Individual Commitment

 Project Summary

Transformative Inclusion in Postsecondary STEM: Towards Justice (TIPS Towards Justice) aims to increase the participation and success of marginalized students in STEM by transforming STEM department cultures to become truly “Serving.” The Pathway will comprise: (1) workshops and exploration regarding factors contributing to underrepresentation in STEM, including stereotype threat and implicit bias; (2) introduction to culturally responsive pedagogies; (3) collaborative implementation of these practices in gateway STEM courses via Lesson Study; (4) review of institutional barriers and STEM students' connections to campus resources; and (5) implementation of High Impact Practices to increase student sense of belonging in STEM fields.

Details about participant commitments

Faculty participants commit to participate in all TIPS Pathway Activities.

1. Summer XXXX - Guided exploration equity workshop: A 4-day workshop during Summer of Year 1 (_dates_, 9:00–3:30) for STEM departments to begin to understand STEM students’ lives both inside and outside the classroom, and how faculty actions and beliefs impact students’ experiences and success. Facilitated by PD designers/facilitators (PD Team), this workshop will enable faculty participants to explore their own biases regarding race, ethnicity, class, and gender; learn about the impacts of stereotype threat and implicit bias; understand white culture as the default classroom experience; and develop strategies for creating an inclusive classroom and departmental culture. 
2. Fall XXXX - Guided exploration to identify inequitable practice: During Year One, department faculty will meet during two lunchtimes per month to explore issues of implicit bias, stereotype threat, and other inequitable practice within and beyond the classroom. Using a protocol developed by the PD Team, faculty will work in pairs within their departments to observe faculty and student classroom experiences and provide instructors feedback for improvement. Faculty will use reflective journaling to document personal development.
3. Winter XXXX - CRPs and Rehumanizing Mathematics workshop: A three-day workshop during Year One Winter for departments to enable and sustain learning environments in which students experience belonging. The PD Team will design and facilitate these workshops, which will address the role faculty can play in their classrooms to support URM students. Participants will learn about privilege and belonging in the undergraduate STEM classroom; faculty actions that can be cues for stereotype threat; faculty roles in increasing inclusive excellence in STEM classrooms; specific culturally-responsive teaching practices; and ways faculty can introduce students to supportive services to promote belongingness. 
4. Spring XXXX - Lesson Study round one: Department faculty work in teams of 6, including the facilitator. LS teams identify an equity-based research theme and an impactful lesson in their course. The team carefully plans the lesson (beginning at winter workshop) with a focus on CRPs. One member of the team teaches the lesson while the other team members observe and collect evidence about student engagement and learning. The team then debriefs the lesson and makes revisions. Another team member then teaches the lesson in another course section. This process is repeated.
5. Fall XXXX/Spring XXXX: Lesson Study round 2 (Fall or Spring).

Additional opportunities

Interest in these additional opportunities will be invited during Fall and Spring 2021/22 as you become more familiar with the project.

1. Lesson Study implementation: Facilitator training (one day) will precede Winter Year 1 workshops. Six facilitators needed, $1500 each.
2. Summer 2021 - Institutional practices improvement: One-day workshop for department faculty, student panels, and institutional leadership. Explore institutional barriers (admissions, discipline, financial aid, etc.) and opportunities not fully benefiting Latinx students (internship programs, student support services, professional mentoring, etc.). Identify targets for improvement. Budget for up to 20 participants, $300 each.

Commitment statement to sign:

I would like to participate in the TIPS Towards Justice Pathway activities as outlined in the Faculty Participants Agreement. I intend to complete all of the Pathway activities. (The TIPS team understands that schedules and employment circumstances may make 100% participation impossible.)