The Benefits of Diverse Role Models: The Scientist Spotlights Initiative with Jeff Schinske

Teaching for Student Success

Who were your role models growing up? In particular, who were your role models that led you to your career in academia? I’m going to guess that most of your academic role models were teachers who look like you or might have similar backgrounds to you. Think about the power of that - seeing an inspirational teacher/educator/thinker/academic that has a similar background to you. If this happened to you, try to remember how inspirational that was. It might have been a parent, a family member, a teacher, a professor….

Now imagine a post-secondary academic environment in which you didn’t look or sound like your professors. Imagine you had no cultural connection to the faculty you saw on campus or online every day. Imagine the unspoken message this might send. Imagine feeling like a stranger in a strange land.

Now, think about the students in your classes. How many of them look or sound like you? How many share your cultural identity? Can you be their role model? Can you help your students see themselves as colleagues in your world?

In this episode, I have a conversation with Jeff Schinske, Professor of Biology of Foothill College, part of the California Community College system about the impacts of the NIH-funded Scientist Spotlights Initiative. The Scientist Spotlights Initiative (SSI) empowers middle/high school, college, and university science educators to implement inclusive curricula that help ALL students see themselves in science. The SSI provides access to easy-to-implement assignments/activities that link course content to the stories of counter-stereotypical scientists.