Science News - USA (2021-11-20)

APPLYING

A CULTURAL

LENS TO

SCIENCE

SOCIETY UPDATE

“Who we are, our culture, our experiences, our identities,

our background — all of those things — inluence our

interest and approaches to science,” Mónica Feliú-Mójer

shared during her keynote address during the Society

for Science’s 2021 Middle School Research Teachers

Conference. Feliú-Mójer, a scientist-turned-educator who

grew up in rural Puerto Rico, has focused her career on

applying a cultural lens to science communication and

storytelling as a means to make science more equitable

and inclusive.

“Too often science, and more broadly STEM, is

decontextualized and disconnected from our realities,

cultures and experiences. This is particularly true

when it comes to students and communities that have

been historically marginalized in science,” she noted.

“Of course, this is problematic because it contributes to

the underrepresentation and the continued marginalization

of some of these groups in science.”

Feliú-Mójer urged educators to ind diverse role models

for their students, recommending that they reach out

to local universities that may have groups interested in

community outreach. “If we’re intentional about what

role models we’re presenting, we can diversify the idea of

who a scientist is and really give kids role models who are

more relevant to their realities and experiences,” she said.

Feliú-Mójer has produced a series of short ilms available

on YouTube called Background to Breakthrough that

feature three scientists who are bringing their culture and

experiences to their innovations. She also works with the

nonproit organization Ciencia Puerto Rico on an initiative

to create more than 160 proiles of Latinas in STEM, which

can be found on the organization’s website.

WANT MORE INFORMATION?

VISIT WWW.SOCIETYFORSCIENCE.ORG/MS-RESEARCH-TEACHERS-CONFERENCE

SN_020_21_D.indd 28SN_020_21_D.indd 28 11/3/21 9:30 AM11/3/21 9:30 AM