From Discovery to I dentity: Exploring w ays to Engage all youth in Science Midwest Regional Noyce Meeting Omaha Oct. 30, 2015 BioHuman SEPA team Julia McQuillan, Patricia Wonch Hill, Amy Spiegel, Judy Diamond
Funded by NIH Science Partnership Award (SEPA) A collaboration of the University of Nebraska State Museum Judy Diamond, Ph.D. Nebraska Center for Virology Charles Wood, Ph.D. Department of Sociology at University of Nebraska – Lincoln Julia McQuillan, Ph.D.
http://www.biohuman.unl.edu More inform ation
W ho am I ?
Sociology • the study of society • a social science involving the study of the social lives of people, groups, and societies • the study of our behavior as social beings, http://www.asanet.org/about/sociology.cfm
W hy m ight S.T.E.M. teachers w ant to learn about Social Science Research? Responses from teachers who did a summer professional development workshop that combined social science and biology research
Sum m er 2 0 1 5 Professional Developm ent “I really liked the way we really thought about how students feel about science based on media and social pressures. Also, how you see yourself as a scientist really determines how well your going to do in science type classes.”
Sum m er 2 0 1 5 Professional Developm ent It has made me much more cognizant of how I can positively impact student's perception of both science and how they identify with the role. Though I have learned about this before, this was more in depth and I saw more sources for this negative view. I feel this is [over-arching] should always be part of the classroom and always have intentional plans to combat it. …..made me more aware of needing to purposefully enhance or help develop students' science identity in the classroom. I am now more aware of certain things that I say in the classroom. For instance, not being gender biased.
Sum m er 2 0 1 5 Professional Developm ent “VERY possible for a science teacher to not learn about the process of research to become a 'scientist'. I think this is HUGE when helping students understand what it might be like and imagine it as something they might be interested in. …. …. It is also important to understand how …. science as a study is truly conducted. Students should know about the network of worldwide research in helping to answer a question. It is a beautiful thing and a mystery to most people what it might really look like:) “
Sum m er 2 0 1 5 Professional Developm ent “Just making kids aware of the false limitations* imposed on them will be a positive take away from this. “ *referring to false gender and race/ethnicity limitations
W ho becom es a Science kind of Person? We assume that becoming a science kind of person is the result of social interaction (a social product) and social structures (i.e. strata…gender, race/ethnicity, social class). More “scientist in the crib” than Lawrence Summers
3 Useful Sociological Concepts • Social Structure & Social Location • Schema • Identity
Social STRUCTURE “the recurrent patterning of social life” (Sewell 2005 in Johnson-Hanks et al 2011:2)
Stratification Intersections Gender ?Order for Science? Boys Girls White boys higher Ed White boys with lower ed Race/Ethnicity White White girls higher ed Black/Hispanic/Asian/ Other White girls lower ed Social Class Minority boys higher Ed Higher Education Minority girls higher Ed Lower Education
Schem as: structure in our brains “schematic components of structure are the largely underdetermined, and often taken- for-granted, ways of perceiving and acting through which we make sense of the world and motivate our actions.” (Johnson-Hanks et al 2011:3)
I m plicit Schem as: Even the m ost w ell-intentioned person unw illingly allow s unconscious thoughts & feelings to influence apparently objective decisions. ~ M. Banaji w w w .im plicit .harvard .edu 18
I m plicit Bias “…attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. “ “These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control.” Staats, C., & Patton, C. (2013). State of the Science: Implicit Bias Review 2013. Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity . http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/wp- content/uploads/2014/03/2014-implicit-bias.pdf
Cognitive Process • Short-cuts/cognitive misers -- economize information • Social Categorization • In-Group Preference • Stereotyping • Attribution Bias
SOCI AL CATEGORI ZATI ON • Two “master status” categories: – race – gender
I n-Group Preference – Whom we’ve been culturally taught to consider as in-group – Socialization – Continued exposure to media
I n-Group Preference …results in distorted perceptions and bias …leads to unconscious discrimination
Orchestra Auditions Female musicians in the top five symphony orchestras in the United States were less than 5% of all players in 1970 but are 25% today. Using data from actual auditions researchers find that having blind auditions (behind a screen) increases by 50% the probability a woman will be advanced out of certain preliminary rounds. Goldin, C., & Rouse, C. (1997). Orchestrating impartiality: The impact of" blind" auditions on female musicians (No. w5903). National bureau of economic research. http://public.econ.duke.edu/~hf14/teaching/povertydisc/readings/goldin-rouse99.pdf
Science Jobs Women applicants were offered lower starting salaries, and were less likely to be hired than men applicants, this was true regardless of the gender of the Scientist (both males and females had biases against women. Moss-Racusin, C. A., Dovidio, J. F., Brescoll, V. L., Graham, M. J., & Handelsman, J. (2012). Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 109 (41), 16474-16479. http://www.pnas.org/content/109/41/16474.full.pdf+htm
How do you know if a youth is a “science kind of person”? WHAT: • Actions • Characteristics • indicators • tell you “this is a science kind of person” • Try to list some items that DO and DO NOT use the word “science”
Why we decided to study Science Identity
Prior Research: Com ics vs. Essays 9 th and 10 th graders (N = 800); Randomly assigned: Comic or Essay about a virus Matter for engagement? For Knowledge? (Spiegel, et al., 2013)
Findings • 4 levels of science identity • Want to read more? COMICS > ESSAYS • The difference was significantly higher among those with the lowest science identity • There were no differences in content knowledge about viruses COMICS = ESSAYS
Spiegel, A.N., McQuillan, J., Halpin, P., Matuk, C., & Diam ond, J. 2 0 1 3 . Engaging teenagers w ith science through com ics. Research in Science Education, 4 3 ( 6 ) , 2 3 0 9 -2 3 2 6 . Doi: 1 0 .1 0 0 7 / 2 1 1 1 6 5 -0 1 3 -9 3 5 8 -x.
Prior research raised new questions • Why do some youth have higher science identities than other youth? • Is high science identity simply a reflection of high discovery orientation (i.e. science propensity) or are there social processes that influence self labeling as a science kind of person? • How important are other’s views (parents, teachers, general others) for youth identification with science?
Science I dentity Should Matter & can change • Youth with higher science identities are more engaged with science and more likely to persist in STEM careers (May & Chubin, 2003; Carlone & Johson, 2007; Chemers, et al., 2011; Spiegel, et al., 2013). • Friendships (i.e. social networks) play a powerful role in identity development and behaviors (Crosnoe, 2011; Cheadle & Schwadel, 2012).
Social I dentities/ Social Structures • Science identities might be particularly difficult to maintain if they conflict with other more salient identities (race or gender). • The implicit associations attached to science kind of person (e.g. white, male), social interactions (e.g. significant others and peers treating one or labeling one as a science kind of person or not).
“I dentity as em bodim ent of Structure” “Structure shapes people in profound ways….habits, hopes, and views of the self…social structure is reflected in identity” “identity…the psychological structure or system that organizes diverse schemas about the self and its relations to others” “ego-identity, or the basic continuity of the self (Erickson, 1959); Personal identity, the characteristics and behavioral repertoires that differentiate the self form others (Cote & Levine, 2002): Social identity, the roles and self-categorizations that position the self in social space (Howard, 2000)” Johnson-Hanks 2011:14)
Looking Glass Self
Can anyone be a science kind ? of person?
Draw a Scientist
Recommend
More recommend
