Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry

There is increasing emphasis on incorporating complex global challenges such as sustainable development and environmental justice in college chemistry instruction. Addressing these issues requires a community of engaged citizens who are empowered to enact change in their communities and value divers...

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Main Authors: Cooper Destinee J., Voigt Matthew
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2024-11-01
Series:Chemistry Teacher International
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2024-0086
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author Cooper Destinee J.
Voigt Matthew
author_facet Cooper Destinee J.
Voigt Matthew
author_sort Cooper Destinee J.
collection DOAJ
description There is increasing emphasis on incorporating complex global challenges such as sustainable development and environmental justice in college chemistry instruction. Addressing these issues requires a community of engaged citizens who are empowered to enact change in their communities and value diverse perspectives. Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is a framework that may support college chemistry faculty in integrating these social justice aims while also advancing equity within their own classrooms. However, college chemistry instructors’ knowledge and implementation of CRP remains understudied. This research explores how college chemistry instructors (n = 6) from different institutions across the United States describe and operationalize CRP. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews indicates that the instructors in this study are flexible in their teaching approach, cultivate a classroom community of collaboration and belonging, and affirm that all students can be successful in chemistry. These practices are foundational elements of CRP, but they must also be coupled with knowledge of students’ cultural backgrounds and awareness of sociopolitical issues that impact students. A framework that considers the context of college chemistry is proposed to support instructors’ adoption of all of the tenets of CRP. Future work will further develop and examine the use of our framework for chemistry faculty development.
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spelling doaj-art-ca188b51d1fd4552b5d160ffbc27a4f92025-07-07T06:01:17ZengDe GruyterChemistry Teacher International2569-32632024-11-017225927010.1515/cti-2024-0086Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistryCooper Destinee J.0Voigt Matthew1Department of Engineering and Science Education, 170373Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29631, USAProgram in Mathematics Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USAThere is increasing emphasis on incorporating complex global challenges such as sustainable development and environmental justice in college chemistry instruction. Addressing these issues requires a community of engaged citizens who are empowered to enact change in their communities and value diverse perspectives. Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is a framework that may support college chemistry faculty in integrating these social justice aims while also advancing equity within their own classrooms. However, college chemistry instructors’ knowledge and implementation of CRP remains understudied. This research explores how college chemistry instructors (n = 6) from different institutions across the United States describe and operationalize CRP. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews indicates that the instructors in this study are flexible in their teaching approach, cultivate a classroom community of collaboration and belonging, and affirm that all students can be successful in chemistry. These practices are foundational elements of CRP, but they must also be coupled with knowledge of students’ cultural backgrounds and awareness of sociopolitical issues that impact students. A framework that considers the context of college chemistry is proposed to support instructors’ adoption of all of the tenets of CRP. Future work will further develop and examine the use of our framework for chemistry faculty development.https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2024-0086icce 2024culturally relevant pedagogyfaculty developmentcommunity cultural wealthsocial justice
spellingShingle Cooper Destinee J.
Voigt Matthew
Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry
Chemistry Teacher International
icce 2024
culturally relevant pedagogy
faculty development
community cultural wealth
social justice
title Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry
title_full Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry
title_fullStr Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry
title_full_unstemmed Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry
title_short Advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry
title_sort advancing culturally relevant pedagogy in college chemistry
topic icce 2024
culturally relevant pedagogy
faculty development
community cultural wealth
social justice
url https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2024-0086
work_keys_str_mv AT cooperdestineej advancingculturallyrelevantpedagogyincollegechemistry
AT voigtmatthew advancingculturallyrelevantpedagogyincollegechemistry