Abstracts
Abstract
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) gaps persist in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, as demonstrated by the discrimination, stereotyping, and inequities that historically and persistently marginalized groups face. Recognition of this gap led a transdisciplinary team to develop foundational-level e-learning modules, titled Foundations for Inclusive and Respectful Engagement (FIRE) on EDI capacities to be delivered in STEM undergraduate classes at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. FIRE consists of online, asynchronous, self-study modules delivered through the learning management system, Canvas. Feedback from pilot testing the FIRE modules has demonstrated that STEM students find the modules to be relevant and beneficial. Throughout the development of FIRE, we learned the importance of aligning the course with our institution’s values, working in a transdisciplinary team, and revising iteratively. This documentation of the development and preliminary feasibility of the FIRE modules aims to assist other institutions or organizations who are in the process of developing their own EDI teaching and learning materials.
Keywords:
- Equity,
- Diversity,
- Inclusion,
- Curriculum,
- STEM,
- Undergraduate Students
Download the article in PDF to read it.
Download
Appendices
Biographical notes
Jenna A.P. Sim is a master of science in health and exercise sciences’ student at UBC, Okanagan. Her research focuses on type-2 diabetes prevention, health equity, and behavioural change. Her master’s research is exploring the need for type-2 diabetes prevention in individuals experiencing food insecurity. Outside of her thesis research, Jenna has also worked in developing and evaluating equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural safety training for type-2 diabetes prevention program coaches.
Mary E. Jung is a professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences with the Faculty of Health and Social Development at UBC’s Okanagan campus. Her research interest is developing evidence-based diabetes prevention interventions designed for community implementation and sustainability, with a focus towards improving equity, diversity, and inclusivity (EDI) in all research endeavours. In the classroom, Jung has developed curricula on cultural safety and inclusivity, and is co-leading a departmental curriculum overhaul to embed EDI competencies.
Jannik Haruo Eikenaar is an associate professor of teaching in UBC’s School of Engineering where he teaches communication and leadership. He has also served as an equity, diversity, and inclusion advisor on campus and leads several Truth and Reconciliation projects at UBC. His research, teaching, and service interests intersect through intercultural communication curriculum, accessibility and inclusion programming, and Indigenous community engagement initiatives.
Rishma Chooniedass is an assistant professor of teaching in the School of Nursing with the Faculty of Health and Social Development at the University of British Columbia. She is the advisor to the Dean on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Through her research, teaching, and service, Rishma strives to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive academic environment, inspiring others to join in the collective effort to advance social justice.
Bibliography
- Adams, N. E. (2015). Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning objectives. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA, 103(3), 152–153. https://doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.103.3.010
- Arora, K., and Wolbring, G. (2022). Kinesiology, physical activity, physical education, and sports through an equity/equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) lens: A scoping review. Sports, 10(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10040055
- Banna, J., Grace Lin, M.-F., Stewart, M., & Fialkowski, M. K. (2015). Interaction matters: Strategies to promote engaged learning in an online introductory nutrition course. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching / MERLOT, 11(2), 249–261.
- BC Public Service Agency. (n.d.). Equity, diversity & inclusion strategy for the BC Public Service. Province of British Columbia. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/careers-myhr/about-the-bc-public-service/diversity-inclusion/diversity-inclusion-strategy
- Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals (1st].). Longmans, Green. https://go.exlibris.link/Ltb20hFr
- Blosser, E. (2020). An examination of Black women’s experiences in undergraduate engineering on a primarily white campus: Considering institutional strategies for change. Journal of Engineering Education, 109(1), 52–71. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20304
- Bryson, B., Taylor, C. O., Carothers, J., Porter, T., Musah, S., Wilson, C. J., Grayson, W. L., Streets, A., & Scott, D. (2020). What needs to change in academia to increase the number of Black scientists and Engineers? Cell Systems, 11(1), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cels.2020.06.014
- Cech, E. A. (2022). The intersectional privilege of white able-bodied heterosexual men in STEM. Science Advances, 8(24). eabo1558. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo1558
- Chakraborty, M., & Muyia Nafukho, F. (2014). Strengthening student engagement: What do students want in online courses? European Journal of Training and Development, 38(9), 782–802. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-11-2013-0123
- Chau, S., Wright, H. K., & Este, D. (2022). The President’s Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence final report. https://antiracism.ubc.ca/task-force-report/
- Chen, D. A., Mejia, J. A., & Breslin, S. (2019). Navigating equity work in engineering: Contradicting messages encountered by minority faculty. Digital Creativity, 30(4), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2019.1678486
- Clark Blickenstaff, J. (2005). Women and science careers: Leaky pipeline or gender filter? Gender and Education, 17(4), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540250500145072
- Corneille, M., Lee, A., Allen, S., Cannady, J., & Guess, A. (2019). Barriers to the advancement of women of color faculty in STEM: The need for promoting equity using an intersectional framework. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 38(3), 328–348. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0199
- Filardo, G., Graca, B. da, Sass, D. M., Pollock, B. D., Smith, E. B., & Martinez, M. A.-M. (2016). Trends and comparison of female first authorship in high impact medical journals: Observational study (1994-2014). BMJ, 352, i847. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i847
- Fraser Health Authority. (2023). Fraser Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) strategy and action plan. https://www.fraserhealth.ca//media/Project/FraserHealth/FraserHealth/Health-Topics/EDI/FHA-411-EDI-Strategy-and-Action-Plan.pdf
- Hinton-Smith, T., Marvell, R., Morris, C., & Brayson, K. (2022). ‘It’s not something that we think about with regard to curriculum.’ Exploring gender and equality awareness in higher education curriculum and pedagogy. Gender and Education, 34(5), 495–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2021.1947472
- Karimi, H., & Pina, A. (2021). Strategically addressing the soft skills gap among STEM undergraduates. Journal of Research in STEM Education, 7(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2021.99
- Kerr, J. Q., Hess, D. J., Smith, C. M., & Hadfield, M. G. (2018). Recognizing and reducing barriers to science and math education and STEM careers for native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 17(4), mr1. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.18-06-0091
- Khan, A., Zolfaghari, N., Shehata, M., & Weissling, L. (2021). Indentifying microaggressions towards equity-deserving groups in engineering across higher education in Ontario: A snapshot of experiences shared (p. 35). Ryerson University. https://ospe.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Final-Report-Ryerson-Mitacs-Revised-cover.pdf
- Knobloch-Westerwick, S., & Glynn, C. J. (2013). The Matilda effect—role congruity effects on scholarly communication: A citation analysis of communication research and journal of communication articles. Communication Research, 40(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650211418339
- Knobloch-Westerwick, S., Glynn, C. J., & Huge, M. (2013). The Matilda effect in science communication: An experiment on gender bias in publication quality perceptions and collaboration interest. Science Communication, 35(5), 603–625. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547012472684
- Lee, G., Oliver, J., Scott, J., Leath, M., & Noland, K. (2022). The state of equity, diversity &inclusion at UMB: Leveraging inclusive leadership to develop and implement EDI-informed curriculum [Report]. https://archive.hshsl.umaryland.edu/handle/10713/18906
- Lee, M. J., Collins, J. D., Harwood, S. A., Mendenhall, R., & Huntt, M. B. (2020). “If you aren’t White, Asian or Indian, you aren’t an engineer”: Racial microaggressions in STEM education. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00241-4
- Lund, A. (2001). Measuring usability with the USE Questionnaire. Usability and User Experience Newsletter of the STC Usability SIG, 8.
- Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment. Online Learning, 22(1), 205–222.
- McGee, E. O. (2020). Interrogating structural racism in STEM higher education. Educational Researcher, 49(9), 633–644. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20972718
- McGill University. (2020). McGill University equity, diversity & inclusion (EDI) strategic plan 2020-2025. https://www.mcgill.ca/equity/files/equity/mcgill_strategic_edi_plan_2020-20251.pdf
- McKinnon, M., & O’Connell, C. (2020). Perceptions of stereotypes applied to women who publicly communicate their STEM work. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00654-0
- Miner, K. N., January, S. C., Dray, K. K., & Carter-Sowell, A. R. (2019). Is it always this cold? Chilly interpersonal climates as a barrier to the well-being of early-career women faculty in STEM. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 38(2), 226–245. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-07-2018-0127
- Mitchell, D. J., & Sawyer III, D. (2014). Informing higher education policy and practice through intersectionality. Journal of Progressive Policy and Practice, 2.
- Padavic, I., Ely, R. J., & Reid, E. M. (2020). Explaining the persistence of gender inequality: The work–family narrative as a social defense against the 24/7 work culture. Administrative Science Quarterly, 65(1), 61–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839219832310
- Park, J. J., Kim, Y. K., Salazar, C., & Hayes, S. (2020). Student–faculty interaction and discrimination from faculty in STEM: The link with retention. Research in Higher Education, 61(3), 330–356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-019-09564-w
- Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105–119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
- Rossiter, M. W. (1993). The Matthew Matilda effect in science. Social Studies of Science, 23(2), 325–341. https://doi.org/10.1177/030631293023002004
- Statistics Canada. (2021). Gender differences in STEM enrolment and graduation: What are the roles of academic performance and preparation? https://doi.org/10.25318/36280001202101100004-ENG
- Stewart, J., al Shaibah, A., Grimaldi, J., Kia, H., Frohard-Dourlent, H., & Ferguson, K. (2023). UBC Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender Diversity Task Force final report. https://equity.ubc.ca/resources/policies-reports/trans-two-spirit-gender-diversity-task-force-and-gender-diversity-audit-reports/
- Tsang, J. T. Y., So, M. K. P., Chong, A. C. Y., Lam, B. S. Y., & Chu, A. M. Y. (2021). Higher education during the pandemic: The predictive factors of learning effectiveness in COVID-19 online learning. Education Sciences, 11(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080446
- UBC. (2024). UBC overview & facts. https://www.ubc.ca/about/facts.html
- UBC Equity and Inclusion Office. (2023). Strategic equity and anti-racisim (StEAR): Roadmap for change. https://equity.ubc.ca/stear-framework-and-roadmap-for-change/
- UBC Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives. (2020). UBC Indigenous strategic plan.
- UBC Planning and Institutional Research Office. (2023, November 1). Student data analytics: Demographics. https://pair.ubc.ca/student-data-analytics/demographics/