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(I'm the short white girl in the middle....not the one in drag...unfortunately)
Intro
Intro
Hi! My name is Greta and my major is Biology Secondary Education. I chose to focus my website on more inclusive approaches to science pedagogy because often when I tell people what my major is, they tell me how much they hated science in school. Not everything is for everyone but I do believe everyone should have some level of science literacy (then maybe we wouldn't have half a country trying to claim a pandemic didn't happen), and I think the problem is the traditional approach to science education - not the students. Specifically, a lot of my content here has to do with keeping queer youth in science because I grew up seeing no one like me in scientific fields. Kids deserve to grow up with the ability to see themselves in their areas of passion.
Note: I'm not a fan of stock images of concepts, like googling women in STEM and finding one of those flat google doodle style cartoons, so the following images don't necessarily tie into the subject matter they're placed with...BUT they are all animals that can either change sex or have been known to exhibit same-sex mating behaviors.
This article details ideas of how simple language changes can simultaneously combat the gender binary and empower young women. It explains that the importance of these changes is significant now more than ever as over half of U.S. citizens belonging to Gen Z know someone who uses gender neutral pronouns. With this huge generational shift in attitudes toward gender, many teachers are struggling to keep up. Rebecca Alber, an instructor at UCLA's Graduate School of Education, is a main source of advice throughout this article. She details strategies relating to common language practice and maintaining diverse participation in the classroom.` It is also noted that while most school curriculums will not include gender inclusive initiatives, there are still a number of ways to integrate greater equity and inclusivity in the classroom, regardless of content area.
Strategies: Use gender neutral pronouns and methods of addressing students, avoid gender binary bases grouping, challenge gender norms in typical classroom language
Intended Use: I really like the idea of challenging gender norms using word problems, like maybe discussing a boy having difficulty with art due to color blindness while a girl playing basketball could be used in a question about Marfan Syndrome. I would also be interested in trying to create more diverse classroom participation as discussed in the article. Girls can feel pressured to be quiet and it may take some more time for more of those hands to come up as opposed to middle school aged boys, so by not always calling on the first hand in the air, I can hope to give a greater variety of voices a space in my class.
This article is written by a trans man who teaches middle school science. He explains how he teaches biology and health through a lens that challenges the gender binary and heteronormativity. The author discusses the importance in doing so through his personal experiences. His scientific and sexual education excluded anyone who was not cisgender and heterosexual. The teacher's identity and deficiencies in his own learning motivate him to provide his students with numerous examples throughout the animal kingdom that do not follow the srict binaries typically seen in science education.
Strategies: Hands-on projects to engage all students, demonstration of human and non-human mating behaviors and anatomy that defy gender norms
Intended Use: This teacher has posters up in his classroom that discuss animal mating behaviors that defy heteronormativity. That's something I would really like to do as well. Students living in environments that are not queer friendly may often feel like science is against them as so many people are quick to call anything out of the norm unnatural and science is always sold as a place without emotions. By showing students that homosexuality and a scale of gender identities is not exclusive to humans, I would hope to make them feel more like they can belong exactly as they are in the world.
Strategies: use of websites that are performing relevant research in real time, projects centered around the local community, non-test methods of assessing understanding
Intended Use: I would really like to engage with students in projects that are relevant to their lives, so being able to arrange something that would allow them to make observations and think about the environment around them is something I would definitely like to do. I also do plan to implement methods of assessment that are not traditional exams as these do not benefit many students.
This source is a booklet containing a variety of resources for teachers interested in engaging with their students in citizen science. Resources include rubrics used to assess work within this curriculum, possible projects, timelines, and methods of implementation. The book also defines at length the concept and importance of citizen science. While this does not fall strictly within the lens of LGBTQ+ inclusion in science, I feel it is of great importance as citizen science seems like an invaluable resource toward keeping students from being pushed out of science. In this way, it applies to creating a queer safe space by providing a more organic environment that students usually have to turn toward the arts to find.
Strategies: encourage students to view scientific inquiry and date through the lens of their experiences, present data and problems relevant to student experience, encourage students to question the world around them
Intended Use: I'd like to encourage students to think of their own identities and empower them to use these identities to question the injustices they see and form solutions.
This book excerpt explains the need for social justice issues to be infused into the science classroom. It suggests that by including these issues, science classes can become more relevant to students and reduce the number of marginalized youth who are pushed out of STEM fields. By placing the emphasis on student identities and what their different identities bring to the classroom, educators can empower young people to make change in the community around them and hopefully encourage them to maintain some level of scientific engagement.
Strategies: expose students to queer role models, make a space visibly queer friendly
Intended Use: I would like to decorate my classroom with safe space indicators such as a pride flag and posters about queer scientists. If it is safe, I will be out to my students. Additionally, I will try to find other opportunities like the museum discussed in this article for them to see themselves in science.
This article discusses the importance of extracurricular science activities and how they can be more inclusive of queer youth. A central idea that can be applied in and outside of the classroom is the need for visibility. If teachers, program facilitators, volunteers, etc. are able to feel safe being out then they can become invaluable role models to queer youth. Additionally, it is recommended that queer students be given greater power over spaces meant to include them. Rather than teachers taking on the often unfamiliar burden entirely themselves, educators can both make their efforts seem more genuine and grant their students a voice by enlisting the help of those who they are trying to include.
Links for Youth Activism Resources:
Links for Youth Activism Resources:
https://advocatesforyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Youth-Activist-Toolkit.pdf - Youth Activist Tool Kit (basically a step-by-step for young people on developing their cause, organizing, and creating change)
https://www.teachhumanrights.com/youth-activism.html - Resources for teachers to help young activists
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