Webinar Series
Addressing Race, Health, and Equity in the Science Classroom
MƒA teachers can register for this event on the Small-World Network.
Date+Time
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The MƒA Equity Webinars Series invites nationally recognized educators to share ideas that support equity within STEM. Following an interactive presentation by the speaker, Master Teachers have the opportunity to discuss how these ideas might be applied in their own school environments in small groups. Teachers from MƒA, other Master Teacher programs, and people interested in learning more about MƒA are invited to attend.
Race permeates every aspect of our society, influencing it profoundly. How do we begin to understand race and its impact on science and medicine and better prepare our students to explore these questions?
In this talk, Dr. Udodiri Okwandu and Ilyana Sawka will briefly discuss the history of racism in science and examine the structures that prevent racialized groups, specifically Black Americans, from equitable access to opportunities in healthcare, education, and STEM fields. Then, they will discuss the Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Science Education (RDEISE) content and resources available on LabXchange, a free online platform for race and science curriculum from Harvard University.
Developed in collaboration with leading scholars, including Dr. Okwandu, RDEISE aims to challenge the idea that science is separate from social issues, promote inclusive and accessible science education, and equip educators with the necessary tools to address these topics in the classroom. This webinar is best for science and health teachers, but anyone seeking resources to advance equity through inclusive teaching is welcome.
Dr. Udodiri R. Okwandu is a historian of science and medicine whose scholarship and teaching contextualize profound racial, gender, and class inequities within the U.S. healthcare landscape. She is particularly interested in examining the historical contexts of psychiatric and reproductive health injustices and sociocultural understandings of health and disease. She is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. As a Presidential Scholar at Harvard University, Udodiri earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in the History of Science.
Ilyana Sawka is the Outreach and Communications Manager for LabXchange. By sharing the LabXchange story with learners, educators, and administrators, and developing collaborations with mission-aligned organizations, the platform has garnered over 51 million visitors. Prior to her current role, Ilyana held positions at the Harvard Kennedy School and collaborated with the late Dr. Robert Lue, molecular and cellular biology professor at Harvard University. She holds a B.A. in history from Yale University and an ALM in international relations from Harvard University.