A framework for educating and empowering students by teaching about history and consequences of bias in STEM

Abstract

Racism and bias are pervasive in society-and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are not immune to these issues. It is imperative that we educate ourselves and our students about the history and consequences of this bias in STEM, investigate the research showing bias toward marginalized groups, understand how to interpret misuses of science in perpetuating bias, and identify advances and solutions to overcome racism and bias throughout our professional and personal lives. Here, we present one model for teaching a universal course for participants of all professional stages to address these issues and initiate solutions. As very few institutions require students to enroll in courses on racism and bias in STEM or even offer such courses, our curriculum could be used as a blueprint for implementation across institutions. Ultimately, institutions and academic disciplines can incorporate this important material with more region and/or discipline specific studies of bias.

Keywords: STEM; bias; dialogue; diversity; equity; inclusion; inclusive pedagogy; racism; solutions.

Figure 1.

Through science history, white supremacy and other systems of privilege have played an important role in shaping and whitewashing what we now call STEM and academia. Contributions to science from individuals of marginalized identities were and are still overlooked, underappreciated, and in several cases unacknowledged or stolen. The Science Behind Bias seminar recognizes the impact of these historic legacies and our current barriers to achieving inclusion and equity in STEM. Positive actions and behavioral changes are necessary to achieve equity and inclusion in STEM. In the seminar, participants integrate these historic legacies with their identity and positioning in the community to inform what actions they can take to create a more diverse and inclusive STEM. Quadrants in figure follow Adams and Bell (2016).

Figure 2.

Community guidelines for Implicit Bias in STEM Seminar series. We give participants clear guidelines to engage in sensitive course material, grounding them in self-awareness through their identities and privilege. The overarching recommendation for participants is to be self-aware of the biases they bring into the classroom, and to use the guidelines for constructive engagement either with themselves or while interacting with other members of the course. Some of the guidelines were borrowed from the Cornell Intergroup Dialog Project—Engaging in Conversations on Racism faculty workshop, August 2020.