Equity in STEM for All Genders

CIRTL Network Course

Fall 2018

Instructor Information

Don Gillian-Daniel
Associate Director, Delta Program in Research, Teaching & Learning
CIRTL Institutional Administrative Leader
University of Wisconsin-Madison
dldaniel@wisc.edu
608.265.9969

Stephanie Knezz
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Department of Chemistry
Northwestern University
stephanie.knezz@northwestern.edu
847.467.4756

Course description (200 words or less)

Students in this course will gain knowledge of the ways that gender bias impacts STEM training and careers. Videos that portray empirically
documented gender bias through narrative and expert interviews have been shown to increase awareness of gender bias and inequity (Pietri,
2017). By viewing these videos as part of a learning community and learning strategies to confront bias on behalf of themselves and others, both
male and female students will gain strategies and increase their ability to confront gender bias in everyday situations experienced by STEM
students, teachers, and professionals. Literacy and advocacy that empower students to engage in long-term positive change is important for the
progress of gender equity in STEM.

Participants will increase awareness of gender bias through analysis of identity, roles, and contexts where gender bias manifests in STEM university
situations. Attention to classroom relationships will expand intervention strategies to student mentorship and advising. As a result of participating
in this course, participants will create a peer reviewed professional biography, learn and practice documented strategies to combat gender bias in
STEM, collaboratively develop strategies for STEM classrooms, and gain exposure to STEM professionals who address gender bias in their careers.

Learning Objectives
Participants will…
● Increase awareness of gender bias
● Recognize gender inequities in professional environments and classrooms
● Gain strategies and confidence to confront bias in everyday situations
● Apply principles broadly and specifically to teaching and learning situations

CIRTL Core Ideas

Teaching as Research
This course is grounded in the concept of bias literacy; the ability to recognize gender bias and articulate the consequences. Following the research
of Pietri et al. (2017), strategies to combat gender bias will be paired with awareness intervention videos, course reading, and group discussion.
This format represents a framework that students can apply to gendered challenges in their classroom. Testing the effectiveness of evidence-based
strategies would be an excellent basis for a Teaching as Research (TaR) project for those prepared to design and implement a TaR project.

Learning Community
Conversations about gender identity are challenging given discouraging statistics about gendered persistence in STEM. In order for this course to
succeed, all students, instructors, and guest speakers must fully commit to engage in the the learning community with open-mindedness and
respect. Course structure will ask students to do pre-work including watching videos and reading primary literature. In class, students will work in
groups and engage in full class discussions. The class will work collaboratively to learn evidence-based strategies for gender bias intervention and
link strategies to classroom interventions. This work will become both a resource for subsequent classes and the CIRTL community. We will
intentionally discuss and assess the extent to which we have created a successful and productive community. This community has the opportunity
to persist after the course as part of the CIRTL Learning Community, ​Addressing Issues of Gender and STEM Education​.

Learning through Diversity

Gender bias affects student persistence in STEM and the diversity of people entering and thriving in academic and non-academic STEM
environments. This course will give students literacy in 1) how gender bias is enacted, 2) consequences of gender bias, and 3) strategies to combat
gender bias. The goal is to empower individuals to both demand and create gender equity for themselves and others as future STEM professionals.
The course learning community will thrive from the individual identities of students, and a growing awareness of the value of diversity in the
workplace.

Note about the theoretical basis for this research: Much of the video content engages gender binary identities through portrayal of male-bodied
people and female-bodied people. Terms such as ‘men,’ ‘women,’ ‘male,’ and ‘female’ appear throughout the videos and primary literature. As a
community, students will respectfully discuss the need for a more inclusive non-binary definition of gender.

Assessment
Teaching as Research
Contact with guest speakers for this course including Eva Pietri, may provide support needed to prime individual TaR projects assessing gendered
challenges in college classrooms.

Gender bias literacy

Following the study assessment model of Pietri et al (2017), students will complete pre and post assessments gauging their awareness of gender
bias. Self-efficacy in situations where gender bias occurs will reflect personal growth. Students will receive individual feedback on their
participation, completion of written reflections, and contribute to the collaborative final projects expanding strategies to combat gender bias in
STEM classrooms from those grounded in literature and peer reviewing professional biographies. Longitudinal outcomes will not be evaluated
although evidence suggests that students will be better equipped with knowledge and community to persist in chosen career paths despite gender
bias and to support positive change.

Learning Community
Pre/post assessments will ask students to describe their comfort talking about gender and gender-based biases as related to their work and career
in general (pre-assessment) and with the class (post-assessment).

Course structure

Materials:​ Students will view expert interview (pre-class) and narrative (in class) videos that are 4-6 minutes long. These videos document gender
bias that occurs in STEM higher education. Students are expected to read primary literature paired with the weekly video content and to apply
observations of their unique environments while participating in this course. Class sessions will welcome guest speakers to discuss their
experiences with gender bias, their scholarship about bias, and the impact bias has had on their careers.

Pre-class work:​ Prior to the first session, students will complete an entrance survey and post a short (less than 200 word) professional biography to
the discussion board. The biography should follow the form of one provided to describe an invited speaker, or a professional website blurb. Prior to
each weekly class, students will read one article and watch an expert interview that contextualizes the assigned article. Students will post
reflections prior to class and are invited to email instructors with questions or concerns at any point during or after the course.

Final project:

Read Wenger-Trayner intro about CoP

Introduction to communities of practice: A brief overview of the concept and its uses
Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, 2015

http://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/

1) Choose a working group to be part of for the semester. Each group will focus on the development of one aspect of the CoP.
 Aspects include:

(1) share resources (e.g., “curate” journal articles from class, find new, and decide how to share with others through the CNC/Moodle, etc.),

(2) learn from one another (e.g., create a series through which speakers can share about their GE work on their campuses),

(3) learn with one another (e.g., develop plans for a monthly (?) journal club), and

(4) learn from others (e.g., invite speakers from our panel during the semester to speak to a larger CIRTL audience, create a schedule of
events).

2) Each group will create a development plan and timeline for the semester
a) Metrics:
1. Every 3 weeks check-in with the whole group
2. End-of-semester - launch the GE STEM CoP for all of CIRTL with programming panned for Sp’19

By the end of the course, students will apply their new knowledge of the power and consequences of gendered language to offer peer feedback on
professional biographies.

All sessions meet using Blackboard Collab​oratrom 1- 3 PM CT.

Date Topic/Activity
Week 1 Introduction
● Course overview & syllabus
October 4 ● Develop operational agreement
● Introductions and overview of LC expectations and netiquette
Public perception
Identity wheel
I
d Week 2 Gender and Classrooms
e
n October 11
t
i CIRTL Network mtg in Madison
t
y Week 3 Gendered Language

October 18
 Week 4 Gender and Competence

October 25

Week 5 Gender Identity and Sexuality

November 1

Week 6 Gendered Roles

R
o November 8
l Week 7 Gendered Parenting
e :
s
November 15
November 22nd THANKSGIVING - no class

Week 8 Gender Barriers and Intersectionality

C
o
n November 29
Week 9 Panel discussion
t
e December 6
x Week 10 Gendered Leadership
t
December 13

Reflective narrative and final draft of classroom strategies due

A Week 11 Meeting of Community of Practice
p
December 20
pl
ic (Optional)
a
ti
o
n
s
Course Credit
CIRTL itself will not grant credit for courses. Each network institution will establish a policy on whether CIRTL network courses may be taken for
local credit. For institutions allowing credit, students may participate with or without credit, as they prefer. Students are expected to register for
the course with CIRTL and complete all work regardless of whether they receive formal course credit. Students who wish to receive course credit
will register for a course (e.g. independent study) at their home institutions under a faculty member designated by their local ​CIRTL Network
campus leaders​. ​Students taking a course for credit will be required to submit a ​grade request form​ to CIRTL by the end of the second week in
the semester. ​At the end of the course, the instructor will communicate with the supervising faculty member at the student’s home institution and
provide a grade recommendation. This course will count for one credit.

Absence Policy
If you know that you are going to be late or absent from class, notify the instructors. If you miss a class unexpectedly, contact the instructors to
determine how to make up the class.

Code of Conduct
The instructors are committed to creating and sustaining an equitable learning environment for all students in this course. We will work to ensure
that all students are valued learners. In turn, we expect that students engage in this course mindfully and with expectations of personal growth as
classroom citizens and in the curriculum. Furthermore, we acknowledge that instructors and students are fallible and may say things to each other
that offend or have unintended consequences. Please bring these situations to the instructors’ attention in a respectful manner. We commit to
listen carefully and change our behavior, address other student's behavior, and reconsider course assessments when appropriate.

American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

If you are a student who requires accommodations in compliance with the ADA, please consult with your instructors at the beginning of the
semester. As course instructors, we provide “reasonable accommodation” to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of
that disability. Your responsibility is to inform us of the disability at the beginning of the semester and provide us with documentation authorizing
the specific accommodation. Your local institution should have an Office for Students with Disabilities or similarly named unit, which is responsible
for verifying and implementing accommodations to ensure equal opportunity in all programs and activities.

Academic Integrity
All students enrolled in this course are expected to follow consult your University’s policies for academic integrity, which should be very similar to
the following:

Academic dishonesty is not acceptable. It includes the following actions: cheating on examinations, plagiarism, improper acknowledgment of
sources in student work, and the use of a student work in more than one course except in academically appropriate circumstances and with the
prior permission of the instructors.

Invited Speakers
Throughout the course, invited speakers will join class sessions to share their experiences of gender bias in their education, training, and
workplace. They will also share their local and national efforts to reduce bias and the negative effects. We hope you engage these people, and this
class discussion time, as a way to share and extend our learning community.