1. Building Diversity Awareness to Promote Student Success:
A Workshop for Science faculty
Workshop facilitators: Julie Sexton, MAST Institute, and Cindy Shellito, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science

2. Acknowledgements
This work is partially based on external funding. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation for funding this work:
Gender in Science and Engineering Program, grants HRD and HRD
InTeGrate, a 5-year STEP center grant

3. What is InTeGrate?
Multi-institutional effort with the following goals:
Develop curricula that increase Earth literacy of all undergraduates (through PD workshops and multi-institutional curriculum development)
Increase # of majors in the geosciences & related fields – so that graduates across disciplines to develop solutions to current and future environmental and resource challenges
UNCO Earth and Atmospheric Sciences has a subcontract to serve as an ‘Implementation Program’.

4. Why focus on diversity?
Adapted from

5. Why focus on diversity?
Source: AGI Currents, Jan 27, 2014

6. Why focus on diversity?
Source: AGI Currents, Jun 2, 2016

7. Why focus on diversity?
Source: AGI Currents, Jun 2, 2016

8. Workshop Goals
Identify teaching behaviors (and other environmental factors) that impact interest, confidence, and skills-development for underrepresented minorities and women in your discipline.
Identify a small action you can take this semester to improve student interest, confidence, and skills development for underrepresented minorities and women.

9. Ground rules
We are exploring our own biases, so this could bring up some emotions, discomfort.
Be mindful of other points of view when sharing your perspectives or ideas.
Help us ensure that everyone has a chance to participate.
Be respectful of the ideas and opinions expressed in this room, and please don’t take them beyond this room.
Any additional ground rules?

10. Part I: Answer each question on a separate notecard:
As a faculty member, how do you know that the department cares about diversity and equity?
How would a student know that your department/school cares about diversity and equity?

11. Part 2: Research Related to Broadening Diversity

12. Factors Predicting Academic and Career Choices
Outcome
Personal
Self-Efficacy
Interest
Academic & Career Choice
Contextual
Department practices
Teaching
Fac-Stu interactions
Undergrad research
Prejudiced experiences

13. Intent to Pursue a Career
Research Example 1
Recruitment and retention of women. Data collected from >1000 students in 6 geoscience departments.
Personal
Factors
Contextual
Factors
Acad & Career Outcomes
Intent to Major
Self-Efficacy
Confidence in Major
Interest
Intent to Pursue a Career
Connection to Instructor
Transformative Experience

14. Findings on Promoting Diversity
Departments successful in broadening participation:
Promote self-efficacy and interest
Develop positive faculty-student interactions in and out of class
Integrate student-centered and transformative teaching throughout classes
Develop awareness of and work to reduce discrimination
See Resources Handout for more information related to findings

15. Research Example 2: Recruitment and Retention of Women in Geoscience
Factors
Predict
Outcome
Personal
Self-Efficacy
Interest/Identity
Academic & Career Choice .
Contextual
Department practices
Teaching
Fac-Stu interactions
Undergrad research
Prejudiced experiences

16. Study Background and Questions
Do students encounter sexist experiences?
What types of experiences are encountered?
How do experiences vary by site type (low, medium, and high sites)?

17. Data collected from 6 geoscience departments
Data Collection
Data collected from 6 geoscience departments
Quantitative
Qualitative
Source
Survey, Students
n = 580
Interviews, Students and Faculty
n = 115
Gender
Female = 580
Stu: Female = 36, Male = 44
Fac: Female = 15, Male = 20
Ethnicity Race
White = 80.2%, Minority = 17.4%, Non-reported = 2.4%
White = 86.4%, Minority = 13.6%, Not-Reported = 0
Site Type
Low = 195
Medium = 191
High = 194
Low = 31
Medium = 37
High = 47

18. RQ1. Do students encounter sexist experiences? (Qualitative)

19. RQ2. What types of experiences are encountered? (Qualitative)
Female students poorly treated by faculty
Female students poorly treated by male students
Macho culture promoted
Perceptions of female students

20. RQ2. What types of experiences are encountered? (Qualitative)
Ambivalent Sexism
Hostile: negative actions and beliefs aimed to harm women
Benevolent: actions and beliefs that appear subjectively positive toward women but are damaging to gender equality

21. RQ2. What types of experiences are encountered? (Qualitative)
Hostile Sexism Interview Examples
Faculty: One faculty member singles out female students, he ridicules women in class, he picks on women
Student: A male student was condescending, mean, and sexist to female students
Student: Its harder for women to understand geology and technical material. It's easy for men.

22. RQ2. What types of experiences are encountered? (Qualitative)
Benevolent Sexism Interview Examples
Faculty: Women tend to be more organized, realistic, and reasonable.
Student: School is better suited for quieter and traditionally female students. You’re encouraged to be reflective, patient, humble, listen, sit down, and be quiet. The traditional, feminine attitude has an easier time dealing with school.

23. RQ3. How do sexist experiences vary by site type? (Qualitative)

24. RQ1. Encounter sexist experiences? RQ2. What type? (Quantitative)
Survey Item
SD/D
Neutral
SA/A
In my geoscience program, I receive unfair treatment because of my gender.
86.3%
6.2%
7.6%
In my geoscience courses, I receive unfair treatment because of my gender.
85.2%
6.7%
8.1%
I feel that I am different from others in the geosciences because of my gender.
90.5%
4.5% 5%

25. RQ3. How do experiences vary by site type? (Quantitative)
Strongly Disagree = 1, Disagree = 2, Neutral = 3, Agree = 4, Strongly Agree = 5
Compared mean values
Anova overall results: f(574,2) = 2.939, p = .054, ꞃp2 = .01
High sites significantly lower rates of sexism than Low sites (p = .019)
Site Type
Mean
Low
1.83
Medium
1.78
High
1.54

26. Study Conclusions and Recommendations
The way in which students are asked about sexism (wording of questions, interview vs survey) may provide similar and different information about the occurrence of sexism.
Hostile and benevolent forms of sexism encountered at all sites.
Faculty may be more aware of sexist experiences encountered by students.
High sites may have lower occurrence of sexism, more welcoming climate.
Recommendation for a place to start: To foster more welcoming, less sexist social climates, need to develop faculty and student awareness about sexism.

27. Vignette Activity
See handout

28. Part 3: Exploring Diversity at UNC
Applying research on sexism in the context of UNC data
UNC Senior Survey Data selected to align with research findings related to teaching, faculty-student-interactions, and discrimination
See handout

29. Part 4: Actions you can take
Discussion:
Given what we understand about the importance of faculty-student interactions, student interest and self-efficacy, student-centered teaching, and addressing discrimination, what types of strategies or teaching/advising behaviors might support your students?
Think-pair-share activity

30. Actions you can take (examples):
Promoting stronger faculty-student connections:
Express explicit concern for well-being of all students
Provide opportunities for individual attention for all students
Promote active participation in undergraduate research
Use more interactive teaching techniques during class.
Hold academic seminars intentionally designed for undergraduate students
Developing student interest and self-efficacy:
Make classroom learning relevant
Provide some opportunities for students to choose what and how they learn
Help students find a way when they struggle
Help students establish connections to the broader profession

31. Actions you can take (examples):
Providing good academic support, advising, and mentoring:
Employ targeted outreach and recruitment activities
Develop self-awareness of your own culture and biases
Write a cultural autobiography
Test your implicit biases at Project Implicit (
Educate yourself regarding good advising and mentoring techniques:
Engage students in research

32. Make a plan of action
Write down 1-3 actions you would like to take this semester to support your students.

33. Workshop Evaluation
Please take a moment to provide us with feedback.