Delivering Student-Ready STEM Education
Colleges exist to provide high quality educational experience to students. Instructional
faculty are essential to the success of students on their academic and professional
journey. In our efforts to create more equitable educational institutions it is imperative
that we develop transformative counseling philosophies and practices.
Delivering Student-Ready STEM Education in 2020 was an immersive professional development experience that engages Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics faculty in the process of examining our current
practices and exploring innovative pedagogical approaches that can be applied to the
needs and goals of colleges as they seek to provide pathways and increase success
for disproportionately impacted students.
In the Delivering Student-Ready STEM Education, participants:
- Were exposed to innovative and practical pedagogical approaches that can be applied
to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics classes.
- Learned culturally responsive pedagogical frameworks that can be applied to teaching,
grant writing, and program development.
- Developed transformative projects/lessons that engage students.
The program featured:
- Keynote speakers, Dr. Sepehr Vakil and Dr. Roni Ellington.
- Four two-hour topical sessions throughout the academy experience
- The sessions are facilitated and designed for teams to work collaboratively and engage
in multimedia activities, exercises and discussions.
- Hosted Community Engagement
Session Topics and Framework
Session I: Teaching the Student and the Content
Session II: Transformative STEM Pedagogies
Session III: Cultural Competencies for Student Success
Session IV: Becoming a Transformative STEM Educator
- Deconstruct traditional educational models and frameworks
- Examine impact on student success and institutional culture
- Provide tools and strategies to implement transformative practices
Sepehr Vakil is an assistant professor of Learning Sciences in the School of Education
and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Previously he was Assistant Professor
of STEM Education and the Associate Director of Equity & Inclusion in the Center for
STEM Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Broadly his research examines
the intersections of learning, identity, race, power, and ethics in secondary and
post-secondary engineering and computer science contexts. Dr. Vakil’s teaching and
research are informed by sociocultural theories of learning, practice, and pedagogy.
He recently received the National Science Foundation’s early CAREER award, as well
as the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral fellowship. He
received his PhD in the Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology program
at UC Berkeley, and his B.S and M.S in Electrical Engineering from UCLA.
Mathematics Education Professor, Inspirational Speaker and STEM education scholar
and mentor, Dr. Roni Ellington has spent the last 18 years cultivating herself as
a teacher, speaker, scholar and personal development expert. Trained as a mathematics
educator, Dr. Roni Ellington has authored several scholarly articles on STEM education,
parental involvement, and successfully navigating the STEM pipeline, particularly
for minority students. Dr. Ellington is a leading expert on how to cultivate student’s
success in mathematics and STEM related disciplines. She is currently an Associate
Professor of Mathematics Education and the former Coordinator of the Graduate Programs
in Mathematics Education at Morgan State University. She has also worked as a high
school mathematics teacher, mathematics lecturer and mathematics education consultant.
She is the owner of the Transforming STEM Network, a company committed to providing
transformative education models to schools and school districts that promote diversity
and inclusion in STEM-related disciplines and she is also the owner and president
of the Transformation of STEM Network (Trans-STEM.net), an organization committed
to promoting and advocating for diversity in STEM education and developing, implementing
and evaluating STEM practices and programs that empower ALL students to excel and
persist in STEM disciplines and careers. partner in Evoklife, a well-being company
that creates programs and products that promote wellness, transformation and individual
and organizational success.