Greetings! 

I hope that all is well. I am writing to see if you would be interested in participating in the REC Network Part 2, a space you have previously engaged in that seeks to transform undergraduate biology education to enhance Black students' retention.  

This project, RCN UBE: Deepening and Expanding the Mission and Outcomes of the Re-Envisioning Culture Network (REC Network), is an NSF Funded project that focuses on building a network of diverse scholars that will discuss and strategize plausible solutions for the challenges of retaining Black undergraduate students in the Biological Sciences through graduate and professional career endeavors. As a member of this network, you would be asked to:

1. Participate in network events (both in-person and virtual) designed to host conversations on re-envisioning the teaching and learning of undergraduate biology education through critical-strengths-based theories of Blackness. 
   1. We are hosting a Fall Think Tank Conference on November 10th and 11th on the North Carolina A&T State University campus.
2. Collaborate (in large group and small teams) with others to create new materials for teaching and learning introductory biology from Afrofuturistic and Black Feminist Frames.
3. Share news about the network with other individuals interested in contributing to the conversations and planning. 

In addition to hosting these events and conversations, the REC network looks to conduct research and gather data and insight from network participants. The research project associated with the network will focus on examining experiences within either being Black in STEM or supporting Black STEM students. As well we will be collecting information on what it is like to collaborate with others to create new teaching materials. This information would come from gathering and assessing documents and artifacts from network participants as well as focus group interviews.

Those who participate in the REC Network will receive financial incentives to support their travel to the in-person network meeting and a stipend for participating in its events. In the event that COVID-19 has still limited travel and in-person gatherings, all planned in-person events will be virtual, with the necessary resources provided to aid in full participation in virtual-network events.

The financial incentives are as follows: For participation in the Think Tanks (happening once a year in the Fall), the associated stipend is $200/ think tank. For participation in the writing groups (happening twice a year), the associated stipend is $300.

One of the REC Network leaders recommended you as someone who would bring valuable insight into this community. If you are interested in participating in the REC Network, please complete the application link provided here: https://bit.ly/3Ph7ptn  

Those who choose to participate in the conference November 10^th- 12^th and the associated research project may be eligible to receive travel accommodations and a $200 financial compensation for your participation in the meeting and research. 

Please complete the link as soon as possible, as we hope to follow up with those interested regarding their participation in our Fall Think Thank!

For any questions, please contact Dr. Terrell Morton at mortontr@uic.edu.   

Best,  

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12:40 am

20 Sep 2023

Opportunity to participate in a free online course focused on Inclusive STEM Teaching: 

The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, a NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program, is hosting a free six-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from March 23 - May 4, 2022 via edX.  Join our community of over 2,000 faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff, and register for our online course this spring. By participating in this course, you will learn how to:

• Advance your awareness, self-efficacy, and ability to cultivate inclusive classroom environments;

• Support your development as a reflective, inclusive practitioner;

• Engage in reflection and discussion around topics of equity and inclusion across a variety of institutional contexts;

• Implement inclusive teaching methods in your classes which will remove common barriers and enhance learning in STEM for all students.

In addition to participating in the course, you may also be interested in joining our community of inclusive teaching facilitators. Please visit our website to learn more about applying to become a learning community facilitator at your local institution.

Hundreds of faculty and graduate students have participated in our recent course runs and significantly gained from the experience. We believe our course will be of interest to your networks of instructors, and encourage you to share the information widely. Please feel free to use this e-mail as well as our course flyer and 1-pager for dissemination purposes.

Please consider signing up as well as sharing with others! 

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1:16 pm

22 Feb 2022