Students in Dr. Bullock’s math class completed a Black Women in STEM poster project.
People who identify within historically marginalized and underrepresented identities/identity groups have often been overlooked and/or not encouraged to equally and equitably participate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields of study or of work. In particular, we acknowledge an historical absence of information and stories about the women who advanced STEM fields.
There is a recent focus on increasing the number of women in STEM by encouraging females to engage in activities related to STEM fields (including clubs, events, scholarships, and so forth). We also acknowledge Black History Month, which came about because of incorrect or absent Black/African American representations and perspectives within the United States history (books, classes, presentations, scholarship, and so forth).
As such, for this project, students learned about and reported on a particular Black woman's life, focusing on her STEM experiences. They then created a "Who's Who" poster to highlight the various lived experiences of their selected person of interest. These were displayed publicly. In a personal narrative that did not need to be shared with the class, students wrote about why they selected the icon they did, and any personal connection they found while completing the assignment.
Students gained historical knowledge to better understand the significance of Black women in STEM fields, and were able to educate others on contributions of the women who they researched.
View more projects here.
