The STEM and Math Equity Conferences, a series of back-to-back professional development events on empowering all students as thinkers and doers of STEM, were held virtually on October 9th-10th. The conferences followed last year’s Fifth Annual Delaware STEM Symposium, representing the culmination of meaningful and challenging efforts addressing inequities in Delaware STEM education.
“Equity is an integral component of achieving the STEM mission,
more than an initiative and beyond a moral imperative.
Equity is our internal, external, and our actionable commitment.”
– Dr. Susan Bunting, State Secretary of Education and Keynote Speaker
Teri Quinn Gray, DuPont and STEM Council co-chair, and Dr. Jamila Riser, Delaware Mathematics Coalition, welcomed authentic conversations dealing with issues in the STEM workforce and classrooms, and invited opinions on what enables change. A student panel brought to the forefront student experiences and championed the importance for educators to elevate and listen to student voices. Students shared stories on racial trauma and discrimination within school environments.
The breakout sessions featured over 25 educators who provided insight, facilitated discussions, and engaged with participants on equity topics which included addressing systemic equity challenges; promoting equitable teaching in STEM classrooms; and supporting access to deeper learning for all by empowering leaders.
Day Two specifically highlighted the potential to advance equity and student engagement through the adoption of rough draft thinking within mathematics pedagogy.
The day’s conclusion offered final reflections by Bethany Hall-Long alongside Gray, Riser, FAME Program Director Lakia Belcher, and Randy Guschl, Executive Director of DFSME.
“We are on the right train, we just have to keep the locomotion going.
We are full-speed ahead. STEM learning and STEM equity
fuse a real pathway to opportunity and prosperity.”
– Bethany Hall-Long, Lieutenant Governor, Delaware
The event was sponsored by the Delaware STEM Council, the Delaware Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education (DFSME),
the Forum to Advance Minorities in Engineering (FAME), the Delaware Math Coalition (DMC), and Delaware Technical Community College.
Additional sponsors included DuPont, Verizon, Labware, and Spekciton Biosciences LLC.
