Science education through and for social justice: reflections from co-creating an anti-racist classroom

Welcome

Critical Thinking for Academic and Professional Development

• Core foundation module taught during semester 2 in the School of Life Sciences.

“Critical thinking is about having the language and frames of reference to examine one’s life in-depth, as well as the world around us, so we can ask questions about the things we take for granted.”

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Hooks, B. (2010) Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. London: Routledge.

Social Justice in HE

‘social justice is the ghost in the machine of the educational apparatus. It is the only part that makes any part of the field of education matter’ Tuck and Yang, 2018

Education through social justice

Education for social justice

Awarding gaps

Compassionate pedagogy

Dismantling deficit narratives

Non-hierarchical pedagogy

Student Partnership

Supporting minoritised students

Health inequalities

Anti-racism

3 issues that drive our work

Awarding gaps: widest for Black students at 18.4% (Universities UK International, 2022). Described as a ‘wicked problem’ (Ugiagbe-Green and Ernsting 2022).

Systemic racism: “is said to occur when racially unequal opportunities and outcomes are inbuilt or intrinsic to the operation of a society's structures. Simply put, systemic racism refers to the processes and outcomes of racial inequality and inequity in life opportunities and treatment” Banaji et al., 2021

Health inequalities: Whilst people from racially minoritized groups constitute 14% of the UK population, they accounted for 34% patients who were critically ill with COVID-19 (Bailey and West, 2020).

What is an anti-racist classroom?

‘...anti-racist pedagogy is not a ready-made product that professors can simply apply to their courses, but rather is a process that begins with faculty as individuals, and continues as they apply the anti-racist analysis into the course content, pedagogy, and their activities and interactions beyond the classroom… informed by critical race theory focuses more in-depth on the analysis of structural racism, power relations, and social justice…even in courses where race is not the subject matter‘ (Kishimoto, 2018).

We need to teach science students about race biology

We share 99.9% of our DNA

https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk

Student Partnership and Decoloniality

• 1 hour lecture and 2-hour seminar
• The first iteration of the Critical Thinking module and further developments are co-created with students
• We co-create a principled seminar space to actively listen and hear stories, rather than being told what to learn or experience.
• Problem Based Learning groups in which each student is provided specific role which they rotate each week for co-enquiry.
• Opportunity for all to question our own beliefs and opinions through critical thought and explore uncomfortable tensions

How do we work in partnership with students to decolonialise our curriculum?

• Explicitly teach critical thinking through Critical Thinking Tool-Kit, inspired by Stella Cottrell, to a case study that explores racial health gap
• The five critical thinking tools:
• Asking meaningful questions
• Analysing arguments for logic and reasoning
• Analysing for assumptions, bias and generalisations
• Evaluating evidence
• Considering multiple viewpoints.

Lara’s Reflections

• Space to have honest discussions led by students in seminars gave me the opportunity to hear the experiences and perspectives of others. Conversations were not restricted by the confines of ‘academic speak’.
• Co-creation allowed the module to feel authentic and true to students’ lived experiences.
• Did not feel tokenistic – It went beyond the ‘box-ticking exercise’ of briefly mentioning racial inequalities in the curriculum design. The case study embedded throughout the module allowed me to engage with issues of racial inequalities in healthcare and the life sciences.
• It encouraged me to question the way I conduct research – Is the methodology racially biased? Am I selecting research from sources authored by people from diverse backgrounds? Do I actually have access to decolonised resources?

Lado’s Reflections

• My personal experience as a black international student working with teachers on projects like this has been nothing but inspirational and motivating.
• A classroom being a space for intellectual individuals to come together and gain knowledge from one another needs to be a comfortable environment for both teachers and students, with all possibly preconceived ideas left at the door.
• I had an immensely comfortable space created where I felt confident to speak and share my opinions in class without the fear of being judged or not being completely understood. Moonisah and Amy made sure to express themselves in their teaching which was well received by us students and in turn allowed us to do the same.
• So it was no surprise that the idea of not only seeing my teachers outside a classroom but being willing to co-create with them was well received. In fact, I was excited to do this with them and Lara because the foundation of a good relationship was made in the classroom.
• Doing this project like other projects we have done in the past, was an honor and every step of the way was thoroughly enjoyed. I would always take an opportunity to share just how special a teacher-student relationship is and how much can be gained through one.