May 30, 2021
4 Key Takeaways from Actua’s 2021 IDEAS Summit
Want more? Consult the key takeaways from the 2021 IDEAS Summit.
Key Takeaways from Actua’s 2022 IDEAS Summit for Educators
August 29, 2022
“Education shouldn’t be a way to leave the community. It should be a way to improve the community” – Curtis Carmichael, award-winning STEM educator.
In May 2022, Actua hosted its 2nd annual IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access in STEM) Summit. This two-day event engaged nearly 400 educators from across Canada. It featured keynotes, panels and workshops that enabled educators nationwide to connect, reflect and (un)learn from diverse voices, perspectives and expertise in STEM fields and education.
- 89% of attendees who accessed the EDI resources at the Summit said they were “very helpful” or “extremely helpful.”
- 77% of survey respondents said the IDEAS Summit increased their ability to teach STEM in a more equitable and inclusive way “a lot” or “very much.”
Here are some key takeaways from the discussions:
Don’t be intimidated by lack of knowledge.
Don’t be intimidated by lack of knowledge.
Educators are often expected to know everything there is to know about the subject matter they’re teaching. While subject matter expertise is important, it’s impractical to expect educators to know it all. Educators are learners too! They are also researchers, investigators and facilitators who must continually adapt and grow to make learning relevant, engaging, and fun for their students. There are several ways to do this, which were a key discussion topic at our IDEAS 2021 Summit.
This year’s summit explored this notion further and discussed how, as educators, we should actively try to find gaps in our own knowledge – not just gaps in our understanding of the subject we’re teaching but also in our knowledge of our students’ cultures, backgrounds and experiences. A the same time, we can seek out opportunities to learn, relearn and un(learn) so our teaching adapts to the evolving needs of our students. It’s about having the growth mindset we so often discuss with students.
Follow-up on conversations with ongoing learning and action towards systemic change.
Follow-up on conversations with ongoing learning and action towards systemic change.
Much of what has been built within our education system is Eurocentric. In other words, it has not been designed for Black, Indigenous or racialized communities. Educators can work to decolonize these spaces and explore how the various cultures and Traditional Knowledge of students can be infused into our teaching to design a new, more inclusive system.
This year’s IDEAS Summit presenters reminded us that inclusion is not just about representation. It’s about the diversification of leadership, knowledge and content. It’s also about exposing students to perspectives and opinions beyond their own and creating a culture where issues of diversity, multiculturalism and inclusion are discussed and explored. This requires open conversations addressing the inequities and barriers youth face in STEM education and careers, followed by concrete actions to ensure diversity and inclusion are embedded in all levels of the system – from classroom to governing bodies.
As stated by a panelist:
“It is not just about including others, but changing the structures. It is as much about re-creation as it is about inclusion.”
Provide opportunities to learn about different perspectives and identities in STEM.
Provide opportunities to learn about different perspectives and identities in STEM.
Diversity is a characteristic of a group, not an individual. So, to diversify STEM education, we must incorporate the contributions and perspectives of diverse folks and provide all students multiple opportunities to learn about their own – as well as different – cultures and identities. For example we can:
- thoughtfully embed cultural experiences and create a fun environment that helps to engage all students (e.g., find ways to encourage Indigenous students to speak with their Elders – have them find out names/use of different species, bring it back and share with the class);
- braid Indigenous science and Ways of Knowing into the prescribed curriculum (Read more here: Chapter 1 – Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science – Knowing Home; A quest for wisdom’: How two-eyed seeing mixes Indigenous knowledge and Western science in N.S. | CBC News ); and
- provide students opportunities to meet and interact with STEM professionals of different backgrounds and identities – some great websites include 500 Queer Scientists, 500 Women Scientists, and Skype a Scientist.
Enhance student learning and engagement by creating accessible spaces.
Enhance student learning and engagement by creating accessible spaces.
Students living with disabilities face numerous barriers throughout their education – in and outside of STEM classrooms. The lack of appropriate accommodations, role models, accessible formats of documents, and our unconscious biases is a continuous challenge for students.
We recommend using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework to enhance student learning and engagement. The framework is designed to help educators engage students in purposeful learning activities, present content in various ways and offer students ways to express new learnings. As educators, we should consider the potential barriers students might face when trying to learn and find ways to eliminate those barriers.
This year’s IDEAS Summit was delivered with support from the Government of Canada’s CanCode program, which Actua has been a part of since 2018.
Learn more
To learn more about the insights shared at IDEAS, check out what participants had to say on social media, using #IDEASxActua. For questions about other professional learning opportunities Actua offers, visit our Educators and Parents Support page.