Ronald Nyanzi

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching in HIgh-Need Schools

Ronald Nyanzi

IUP Noyce Grant

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IUP NOYCE GRANT

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching

IUP NOYCE GRANT

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching

What is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

CRT = Using students’ cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and community resources to make learning effective and meaningful. (Gloria Ladson-Billings, 1995)

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IUP NOYCE GRANT

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching

Why should this matter to STEM educators?

High-need schools serve diverse learners (cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic).

CRT increases engagement, achievement, and persistence in STEM pathways.

STEM often feels distant or irrelevant to students.

IUP NOYCE GRANT

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching

CRT in STEM Classrooms

Physics

Math

Science

Ecosystems

• Study the Amazon Rainforest food chain

Energy

• Calculate power using abstract electricity problems.

Statistics

• Use textbook data sets (Car sales, company profit)

IUP NOYCE GRANT

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching

Pick one STEM lesson, e.g., linear equations, Newton’s laws, or photosynthesis

• Add community examples.

• Connect to student experiences

• Highlight diverse role models

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IUP NOYCE GRANT

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching

Challenges of CRT

• Standardized curriculum requirements.
• Lack of culturally relevant resources.
• Time constraints.
• Teacher preparation and bias.

Topic

Culturally Responsive STEM Teaching

Strategies to Overcome the challenges

• Use local examples without rewriting entire curriculum.
• Build a shared bank of culturally relevant problems.
• Collaborate with colleagues.
• Reflect on personal teaching assumptions.

Energy:

• Compare solar vs. charcoal energy use in students’ communities; link to climate and sustainability.

Lesson Plan: Linear Equations

1. Exploration with Community Examples Introduce the form of linear equations (y = mx + b). Then use American community-based contexts: Public Transportation: “A subway pass costs $2.75 per ride plus a $1 card fee. Write the equation for the total cost (y) after x rides.” Sports: “Your basketball team sells T-shirts to raise funds. Each shirt costs $15. Write the equation for the money raised (y) after selling x shirts.” Food & Family: “At a local pizza shop, a large pizza costs $10 plus $1.50 per topping. Write the equation for the total cost (y) if you order x toppings.” Students work in small groups to write and share their equations. 2. Student Experience Connections Ask students to bring in their own examples: “Think about something from your family, neighborhood, or activities. How would you write an equation for it?” Examples: Data plans (base fee + cost per GB). Babysitting earnings ($10 per hour). Chores allowance ($5 per chore). 3. Role Models in Mathematics Show images and short stories of diverse mathematicians: Katherine Johnson – NASA mathematician who calculated rocket trajectories. Mary Golda Ross – a Cherokee aerospace engineer, worked on space programs. Alan Eustace – an Engineer who worked on Google systems (highlighting innovation). Contemporary figures – like Dr. Talithia Williams (African-American statistician who promotes data literacy). Message: “Math belongs to everyone, and people from many backgrounds use it to solve real-world problems.”

• Show images and short stories of diverse mathematicians:
• Katherine Johnson – NASA mathematician who calculated rocket trajectories.
• Mary Golda Ross – The first Native American female engineer.

• Contemporary figures – like Dr. Talithia Williams (African-American statistician who promotes data literacy).
• Message: “Math belongs to everyone, and people from many backgrounds use it to solve real-world problems.”

• Ask students to bring in their own examples:
• “Think about something from your family, neighborhood, or activities. How would you write an equation for it?”
• Examples:
• Data plans (base fee + cost per GB).
• Babysitting earnings ($10 per hour).
• Chores allowance ($5 per chore).

Additional Resources

Ecosystem

• Explore local ecosystems (lakes, rivers, farms) and community environmental challenges.

• Introduce the form of linear equations (y = mx + b). Then use American community-based contexts:

• Public Transportation: “A subway pass costs $2.75 per ride plus a $1 card fee. Write the equation for the total cost (y) after x rides.”

• Sports: “Your basketball team sells T-shirts to raise funds. Each shirt costs $15. Write the equation for the money raised (y) after selling x shirts.”

• Food & Family: “At a local pizza shop, a large pizza costs $10 plus $1.50 per topping. Write the equation for the total cost (y) if you order x toppings.”

• Students work in small groups to write and share their equations.

Statistics

• Use community health data, local environmental surveys, or student-collected data.