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Educator Myesha Wallace Outlines 3 Steps to Enhance STEM Inclusivity in Classrooms
2/21/2024
The contributions of Black Americans to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have frequently been overlooked, prompting Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2023-2024 State Finalist and STEM educator Myesha Wallace to draw on personal experience to propose “Three Ways to Enhance Inclusivity in STEM Classrooms” in a blog for Solve for Tomorrow’s partner DonorsChoose, the nonprofit providing a trusted classroom crowdfunding platform for teachers.
Myesha builds upon the legacy of STEM evangelists George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington, noting that most HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) incorporate STEM and engineering education at their core. Designed for practical problem-solving, these institutions address real-world issues that resonate within the Black community, an approach underlying Myesha’s three steps:
- Define STEM as a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach to solving real-world challenges. STEM is not memorizing academic subjects for testing. STEM encourages students to employ a full range of skills in hands-on ways.
- Help students find a real-world issue in their community that needs fixing, demonstrating there is real value in what they can visualize and create. As State Winners and National Finalists in Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, we’ve addressed failing water supply infrastructure, food insecurity, and local green spaces.
- Representation matters. Students who see people who look like themselves in positions of trust and authority can more readily visualize their own career opportunities.
Read Myesha’s full DonorsChoose blog.
