宾州中央谷. — 内特·布朗 spent much of his career as a theoretical mathematician and is currently a 数学教授 in the 中国博彩平台埃伯利理学院. 经过20年的数学研究, Brown shifted his focus to education — specifically, 研究STEM高等教育中的不公平现象.
Brown shared some of his research and engaged in a lively discussion with more than 80 online and in-person attendees during his recent presentation, “STEM高等教育中的不平等,"法官的一部分, 股本, 多样性, 和包容(JEDI)虚拟可持续发展系列 at 中国博彩平台 (PSU-LV). 布朗实际上是通过Zoom出现的.
“听他的故事很有意思, going from a theoretical mathematician to someone focused on inequity in STEM higher education,詹妮弗·帕克说, associate professor of sociology and member of the JEDI faculty committee. “He pointed out things we can be on the lookout for in our teaching strategies.”
在他的演讲中, Brown shared notable statistics about the disparities between white students and students of color in STEM fields: “The biggest disparity is between white men and Black women,布朗说. “Among white men who start college the same time as black women — 48% of white men graduate with a STEM degree, 只有28%的黑人女性. There is something happening institutionally that is causing those results.”
因为没有放之四海而皆准的学习方式, Brown has found disparities often appear when an instructor relies on one teaching method.
"It’s important to understand there is no one simple checklist to incorporate inclusive teaching, 尽管有一些原则,布朗说. "It’s really up to the teacher to go out and learn the general principles and implement them in your own specific course.”
布朗说，依靠成长型思维, 愿意尝试不同的交付方式, and being open to student feedback are three important traits of inclusive teaching. The traditional “lecture and note-taking” method teachers have utilized for decades is no longer the single most effective learning method, 布朗说.
“Had I been trained as a teacher, I would have learned there are other options,布朗说. “‘Traditional’ is the only way of teaching for some. No one exposed us to the wealth of possibilities — active learning techniques are better forms of instruction. In the STEM fields, ‘traditional’ teaching is the norm. 根据我的经验, there is a real divide between research mathematicians and mathematicians who mostly teach. Research mathematicians are very averse to change — teaching mathematicians are generally on board and try to serve their students as best they can.”
PSU-LV student Aryan Patel speaks during 内特·布朗’s presentation. Patel is exploring inequity issues within STEM at the high school level.
“One major thing with inclusive learning is to incorporate active learning activities, such as group projects or more hands-on type of work,帕克说. “Research shows when we incorporate active learning techniques, it makes a difference for underrepresented groups in STEM. Active learning shows we care — it makes a big difference, 对于代表性不足的群体来说，差异更大. 我想我们一直都有这样的对话, but maybe we haven’t understood the strategies in terms of impact on underrepresented groups. 同理心非常重要.”
Parker said speakers are chosen for the Virtual Sustainability Series for different reasons. 在布朗的案例中, 他的杰出贡献, particularly pioneering work addressing inequities in higher STEM education stood out. Also important was the similarity of his research interests with those of PSU-LV student and JEDI Fellow Aryan Patel, who is exploring inequity issues within STEM at the high school level.
“This natural alignment presented a significant opportunity for learning with Aryan gaining invaluable insights from 内特·布朗’s wealth of experience and expertise,帕克说. ”也, [Brown] is a Penn State professor and mathematician — it’s unusual to have someone shift gears the way he has. He’s coming from a high level in the STEM field as a mathematician, so he has an important perspective from which we can all benefit.”
