Professor of Psychology California State University, Stanislaus Turlock, California, United States
Program Abstract: Students at California State University, Stanislaus, are far more likely than their instructors to be the first in their families to attend college and to identify as members of historically underrepresented ethnic or racial groups. Divergent backgrounds can create challenges, such as reduced sense of belonging among students. However, they also present opportunities to improve student success by helping faculty adopt culturally inclusive teaching practices. CIENCIA—the Collaboration for Inclusive and Engaging Curriculum, Instruction, and Achievement—was designed for this purpose and offered to faculty for three years. Students who were taught by CIENCIA faculty demonstrated improvements in key non-cognitive factors, including growth mindset, and stronger academic outcomes in STEM courses. Faculty also reported benefits from participating in CIENCIA. Attend this session to learn what we taught the faculty and how this impacted the approaches they used in their classrooms.
