Strategies toward making STEM classrooms more safe and inclusive spaces for Latinx students

1:45pm-3:15pm EST

Presenter: Esmeralda Martinez

Session Type: Workshop

Topic: Identities and intersectionality

Description

In this session, attendees will first learn about the presenter's experiences as a person of marginalized identities in STEM. Attendees will reflect on impactful experiences (both negative and positive) in the classroom and then complete a think-pair-share activity. Attendees will then learn of strategies that presenter has implemented to a chemistry online and face to face classroom to be mindful of student's identities and cultural capital. Overall, attendees will learn about the presenter's personal experiences as a Latina first-generation student in STEM, reflect on their own experiences and identities, and learn of strategies and activities that can build an inclusive classroom that engages students and makes it a safe space.

Facilitator

Esmeralda Martinez

Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Lone Star College - Houston North

esmeralda.martinez@lonestar.edu

Esmeralda Martinez (she/hers/ella) earned her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Houston-Downtown in 2016 and a M.S. in Biochemistry from The University of Texas Medical Branch in 2018. Esmeralda is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Lone Star College - Houston North, in Houston, Texas. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Higher Education and Leadership Policy Studies at the University of Houston. Her current goals as a professor and graduate student researcher are driven by her passion for mentoring underrepresented STEM students and decolonizing science education.