Initiatives
Dr. Shirley Malcom
STEM Speaker, December 2, 2014: Undergraduate STEM Education: Moving Diverse Populations from the Margins to the Center
Head of Education and Human Resources Programs at AAAS
Take-Home Lessons
• Remember that, collectively, students who have historically been underrepresented
in science (underrepresented minorities, women in many fields, students with disabilities,
first generation students) are the MAJORITY of your student populations and therefore
deserving of commensurate attention. Individually, they are one of a kind and we must
find the strategies that work for each of them.
• Research based instruction is a necessary strategy that must be included, but it
is not sufficient. We need to consider how to help students build STEM identities
and find communities of learning and support.
• We need to let students in on the story lines (the narratives) of our fields, including
through meeting people who use this in their work.
• Don't just think "STEM majors," but also "STEM fields."