TIPS: Towards Justice
Transformative Inclusion in Postsecondary STEM: Towards Justice
A pathway for university/college STEM departments to embrace servingness
The TIPS: Towards Justice pathway is a two-year departmental pathway that addresses persistent marginalization and underrepresentation of Latine students in STEM.
Originally developed at Sonoma State University with the support of the National Science Foundation, The Pathway comprises (1) workshops and exploration regarding factors contributing to Latine underrepresentation in STEM, including stereotype threat and implicit bias; (2) introduction to culturally responsive pedagogies; (3) collaborative implementation of these practices in gateway STEM courses via Lesson Study; (4) review of institutional barriers and STEM students' connections to campus resources; and (5) implementation of High Impact Practices to increase student sense of belonging in STEM fields.
The TIPS Pathway is a significant undertaking on the part of a STEM department—with the potential for exceptional reward as we support many more of our students to thrive in our classrooms, departments, and disciplines.
See below for more information on each step of the Pathway.
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The TIPS: Towards Justice pathway is a Department-level commitment. We recommend the following before embarking:
- A discussion, at a department faculty retreat or dedicated department meeting, about what is currently known about the department's "servingness" culture: Are there data sources that help us to understand who is and is not currently at home in and succeeding in our department?
- At a separate meeting, a discussion (no commitment yet) of faculty members' interest in exploring issues of teaching practice and department culture that might better serve students—even if that exploration challenges some deeply-entrenched ways of being.
- Department vote
- Institutional commitment (agreements on $)
- Individual commitments
- Contracts with providers
- Student survey and focus groups (conducted by providers)
- Summer workshop: Understanding our students' experience
- Fall check-ins: Connecting with students
- Winter workshop Rehumanizing STEM