Disrupting Paradigms and Practices to Diversify the Biology Education Ecosystem

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This talk is the third talk of the SABER Seminar series and will be held over Zoom at this link.

Dr. Angela Michelle White has an extreme passion for teaching and learning science. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Science in Biology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Educational Psychology from North Carolina State University. Dr. White has served as an educator for 18 years at various levels. She is an Associate Professor of Biology and currently serves as the Dean of University College and Student Success at Johnson C. Smith University. In this role she strategically develops and implements initiatives that promote the participation, academic achievement, and success of students across the University. Her current research interests, publications, and presentations give attention to racial identity, science identity, science self-efficacy, metacognition, and STEM achievement of African American students. As a strong advocate for the participation of African American females in STEM, Dr. White continuously engages in discourse and research that will promote greater access to STEM-related opportunities and recognition of African American students. Dr. White is also the co-founder of NoireSTEM, an educational consulting firm that seeks to increase access and achievement of African Americans in STEM degree programs and careers.

The objective of this presentation is to explore the perceptions and experiences of African American/Black women within the science pipeline; using a critical perspective to unpack the influence of race and gender on their identity development within science. In doing so, participants will be encouraged to explore their own paradigms related to the educational experiences of African American/Black females pursuing biology/science degrees. The goal is to initiate conversation surrounding the importance of: 1) Delineating the experiences of African American/Black women in science distinct from the experiences of women of color; 2) Promote the continued investigation of African American/Black women achieving in fields and disciplines like Biology/Science that are perceived to be White male dominated spaces; and 3) Developing pedagogies and practices that will promote the academic achievement and identity development of African American/Black women in biology/science courses and degree programs.