One serious manifestation of inequity in STEM classrooms is teachers’ deficit perceptions of minoritized students, wherein they perceive non-western ways of thinking, talking or doing science as wrong, rather than scientifically meaningful and generative. Deficit perceptions can have a serious impact on minoritized students’ ability to learn, belong, and persist in science. Humanizing, culturally responsive pedagogies, and anti-racist pedagogies have been identified as approaches that can promote equitable science instruction and address inequitable outcomes. Socorro and CalTeach teacher educators aim to enhance CalTeach, a science teacher preparation program for by foregrounding anti-racist pedagogies and focusing on how students’ daily struggles can be used to inform and create meaningful learning experiences for students.
Two main questions guide her inquiry:
