Introduction

Madeleine Gonin

Introduction

Madeleine Gonin

Introduction

This book was created by members of the Gender Diversity in STEM Faculty Learning Community (FLC) that was co-sponsored by CITL and CEWiT at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) for Fall 2018- Spring 2019.

In April 2019, the FLC members surveyed IUB students in STEM classes to determine the climate of STEM classes. We have included quotes (paraphrased when they referred to specific instructors) throughout this publication to give readers insights into student experiences.

This publication reflects multiple needs that FLC members wanted to address. While discussions in the FLC meetings explored why diversity in STEM is important members wanted to share information in this publication that they thought instructors can use as they design and teach their courses. If you want to know more about the importance of diversity in STEM, we recommend Kenneth Gibbs Jr.’s blog post, Diversity in STEM: What It Is and Why It Matters.

This publication includes resources for those who want to build their foundational knowledge about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and information for those who want to do the hard work of creating more equitable classrooms. Learn more about the instructor’s role in creating inclusive STEM courses in Killpack and Melón’s article, Toward Inclusive STEM Classrooms: What Personal Role Do Faculty Play? Why is this important? Beckie Supiano’s article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Traditional Teaching May Deepen Inequality. Can a Different Approach Fix It?, along with Zellmer and Sherman’s letter to Science, Culturally inclusive STEM education, highlight why different approaches to STEM education are needed if we want to ensure that our STEM students have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their careers.

We hope that you find this publication helpful. It is organized by topics that we found valuable, along with many resources for you to explore. Throughout the chapters you will see quotes from students who had taken a STEM course at IUB in Fall 2018 or Spring 2019. The last chapter gives you more detailed results from the survey. We hope this starts or enhances your work towards creating more inclusive and equitable STEM courses at IUB.