QUBES - Projects: Social Justice

This is a multi level project with several subthemes.

We have at least three projects.

Project 1: Faculty professional development

This subgroup will work on a resource for faculty that includes Open Pedagogy and Open Education Resources as well as readings for faculty groups to self educate on Social Justice, equity and Inclusion. We will also develop resources for students that prepare them to enter research in labs or courses. In addition to the Entering Research resources that exist we will develop practice role plays that help students reach out to faculty.Open pedagogy possibilities: students could create this content, choose the data/social identities to focus on

Need toolkit for faculty in STEM; e.g., teaching for antiracism (SABER)
Toolkit for educating faculty mentors in culture competence in mentoring
Toolkit for inviting students to participate in URE and CURE

A potential resources to share with student is this new organization EntoPOC (https://www.entopoc.org)

Toolkit from entering research to prepare UR and other students to find and interview mentors

Project 2. Coupling scientist biographical narratives (hello Scientist spotlight!) with data narratives (hi Figure of the Day, Data Nuggets, and other quantitative skills for CUREs), Could include Figure of the Day - add Social Justice set? (https://qubeshub.org/publications/618/forks?v=1)

This group will identify diverse scientist and prepare video interviews and data nuggets keyed to particular bio course topics. Areas of importance include

Valuing traditional ecological knowledge, and comparing to western scientific inquiry practices
Native Cases: http://nativecases.evergreen.edu/
Health disparities
Environmental (in)justice (heavy metal contamination, air quality, heat island effects, etc.)
Linking human health to ecological systems (conservation medicine)
Data sets from Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health: https://www.racialhealthequity.org/data

Project 3: Focus on Course based research and potentially new cases around LEAD IN DRINKING WATER AND PAINT
Our interests is to create a CURE that has students test for lead contamination of water or paint in our local community, develop hypotheses (possible research projects), and investigate the social, human and environmental health implications. This could be a CURES project where students explore datasets from lead levels in Flint Michigan (guides.emich.edu/datathon/data), and compare lead levels to local lead levels (from local public buildings and spaces.) Are there existing databases on lead that students could use this year for research questions? https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/data/state.htm

legacy impacts of Redlining practices and how they have shaped our urban communities. Air pollution, urban heat island effects are all possible issues that can be turned into CURES, too.

Project 4: Adapting the Calling Bull curriculum for teaching social justice in biology

Facilitated by Pat Marsteller and hopefully others