Dr. Hrabowski

Note: DO NOT see the words "STEM" and or "Math" and move on. This video is for EVERYBODY!

I've shared my experiences about doing math while Black. I've shared some of my friend's stories of success in STEM fields. I made a commitment to share more about the subject of equity and STEM education, and I want to keep my promise.

The gentleman in the video below is Freeman Hrabowski, President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Ph.D. in Mathematics, co-creator of the Meyerhoff scholarship, fellow southerner, HBCU graduate, a personal hero of mine, and overall BEAST. Dr. Hrabowski has become well known for producing successful African-American and Hispanic students in STEM fields at his university. I've talked about equity issues in STEM with regard to race, class, and gender, but he does it much more eloquently. Get into it:



Here are my big takeaways:

• When we talk about African American and Hispanic students not excelling STEM fields, we talking about Americans!!!!
• Most students, regardless of race, do not succeed in science and mathematics. 
• The culture of STEM departments on college campuses have to change. Departments that encourage success tend to have students who are successful
• Students are bored. College courses have to be redesigned to be problem-based and collaborative. Students need to struggle with interesting and relevant problems to be engaged. He calls this "academic innovation." 

In this TED talk, Dr. Hrabowski's gave his 4 pillars of college success in STEM fields for African-American and Latino students (and, actually, all students). They are as follows:
(1) Faculty have to have high expectations and students have to develop the understanding that it takes hard work to be successful.
(2) Campuses must build collaborative community.
(3) Researchers produce researchers. In other words, students have to be immersed in their fields of interest and apprenticed by experts in the field. 
(4) Faculty have to be willing to be involved. They have to pay attention to their students and get involved when they see students going astray.

If you've been reading for a while, you know that this issue is extremely important to my purpose and career plans. This TED Talk had been sitting in my inbox for about a month. Shame on me! Dr. Hrabowski has inspired me today, and I hope he does the same for you. Even if your passion isn't STEM, may his enthusiasm and love for what he does ignite your personal passions.

Until next time . . . follow your passions!

STEM Fierceness: Almost Dr. Jones Frank!

This post was originally posted on my personal blog in February 2013. 

First, a little mood music. I submit On My Way by Reflection Eternal, one of my personal pick-me-ups, for your listening pleasure: 

 

"Whether sunny or rain....Whether ecstasy or pain...I'm on my way!"

As a means of speaking my greatness into existence, I'll start by highlighting myself. Yup, gonna toot my own horn today. I take my commitment to increasing underrepresented students' participation in mathematics very seriously. As a teacher, teacher educator, and budding researcher, I want to do my part to provide students with quality mathematics instruction.

If you read my Ph.D story, you'll remember that I've had the opportunity to teach prospective mathematics and science teachers since I've been in graduate school. I'm grateful to work with faculty who have given me the space to create a course that I think is really special. In this class, we tackle tough issues like like the one I addressed in last week's post. Ultimately, the class is designed to have them think about everyday math and science classroom issues from an equity perspective.

One of our very first exercises is writing our mathematics and science autobiographies. People who teach math and science, especially at the secondary level, tend to be pretty good at the content.  Sometimes math and science teachers have difficulty working with struggling students because they are very adept at the subject matter. We call this the "expert blindspot" in education research. So, to think critically about how to reach struggling students, my students and I delve into our own mathematics autobiographies. We look for issues of privilege and oppression that shape who we are and how we approach teaching. Here's an excerpt of my autobiography that I share with my students:

My family has been incredibly influential in shaping my perceptions of myself as a learner of mathematics. My father, a self-taught computer programmer, always told people that I got my “math brain” from him. Growing up, I was never afraid of doing mathematics because my father always made it seem as if it were something that we were predestined to do and to be good at thanks to our “math gene.” On the other hand, my mother always raved about how proud she was to have daughters (my sister also had lots of success in math classes) who were highly successful in a subject area that challenged her.  To this day, she still talks about how she feels like our success in math is her victory,

 When I look over my academic career, I also attribute my love and confidence in mathematics and my desire to teach it to several mathematics teachers that I had during my K-12 and college years. I would say that my curiosity and fascination with mathematics began in the third grade with Mrs. Gaylor and long division. Mrs. Gaylor was the first (and one of two) African-American teachers that I had. She always displayed her admiration and support for me both in and out of class. She made me feel mathematically competent by sending me to the board, having me explain answers to my fellow students, and allowing me to be her “helper”. In retrospect, while I felt like Mrs. Gaylor’s favorite, I would surmise that she was able to make many of her students feel the same way. Many of my classmates have similar feelings about Mrs. Gaylor and her class. Nonetheless, Mrs. Gaylor and her warm and heartfelt approach to teaching definitely shaped my feelings about mathematics and my desire to teach it. Additionally, having an African-American woman as a mathematics teacher gave me a frame of reference. I was able to see myself as one day being a teacher and teaching a “hard” subject like math. 

A second influential teacher, Mr. Parr, is, by far, the most knowledgeable math teacher that I ever had. He taught my Algebra 2 and Precalculus classes when I was in high school. He had a way of taking very complex material and making it accessible to my classmates and me. I attribute much of my academic success in college to Mr. Parr’s solid foundation. He was on the cutting edge of technology, as TI-82 calculators were fresh off of the assembly line. He always had an answer to the “whys” and “hows.” When I was a high school teacher, I often found myself thinking, “What would Mr. Parr do?” when I was faced with an instructional challenge. Mr. Parr opened me up to the intellectual rigor of mathematics. He made set theory and asymptotes seem totally approachable. I had the opportunity to thank him about two years ago. I am more appreciative than he’ll ever know.            

Dr. Harvey, my Calculus 2 and 3 teacher, was also highly influential to my development as a mathematics learner. I attended Florida A&M University, a historically Black college in Tallahassee, Florida. That experience alone was highly influential. Transitioning from being one of the only Black students taking advanced math and science in my high school to taking advanced mathematics with Black students from all walks of life, cultures, and backgrounds was amazing. It made Black excellence in mathematics the norm. This proved to be highly influential as I faced predominately all-Black classrooms during my first years of teaching. Learning mathematics from a classical AND cultural perspective never made me see excellence and being Black as dichotomous. Dr. Harvey, a well-known and respected professor in our department, appealed not just to our intellect, but to our spirits as well. He referred to everyone as “mathematician,” and so I began to see myself as one. He encouraged us to continue our education, for being African Americans with mathematics degrees was rare, and our collective voice was needed. 

Post-college, my identity as a mathematics learner has continued to be shaped and redefined. Being a woman of color in mathematics can be isolating at times. Sometimes I find myself wondering if I am being discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, age, dialect, or some other characteristic that makes me who I am. Other times, I realize that having a different, unique voice is needed and necessary. More than anything, my experiences have helped me to realize that learning math is equally affective as it is intellectual. Each day I engage with mathematics, whether teaching, working a difficult problem, or working with prospective mathematics teachers, I am aware that this story of my relationship with mathematics is still growing and changing.

There are a few things about my personal journey that I'd like to point out.

1) My family believed in me. While I now know that there is no such thing as a "math gene," my father's confidence in his little Black girl to excel in mathematics has been powerful in my quest to succeed in mathematics. He never doubted my sister and I for a second, thus, we didn't start our academic journey by doubting ourselves.

2) I had a supportive village. You know how people say, "I'm doing this for all the people who said I wouldn't be anything"? Well, I don't know what that feels like. My teachers and the people my parents allowed into our lives always held us up. They made us feel competent. They normalized excellence. I owe my success to church-sponsored oratorical contests and Bible drills. To the members of our church who honored us for making honor roll by presenting us with crisp $5 bills in front of the congregation. I was loved. I was nurtured. I didn't start to doubt myself until I forgot the things I learned from my parents and from my years as a child at a little store-front church in Stafford, TX. 

3) I excelled in mathematics because I was attuned to it intellectually and affectively. Math doesn't have to be taught as a cold, distant subject. There's love and care woven all throughout my mathematics autobiography, and I hope that if some of my students ever write theirs, there will be some love and care interwoven - at least in the part about me :). While I can't teach new teachers to love their students and to be warm, I can make sure that they take affective issues into account as they teach.

As the Reflection Eternal song at the beginning of this post reminds me, I'm on my way - despite setbacks, doubts, insecurities, and procrastination. I'm. On. My. Way. Period. I'm off to go work on this dissertation (as always). I'm off to make my mark in the world. I'm off to continue drafting my mathematics autobiography.

Until next time . . . be on your way!

STEM Fierceness: Almost Dr. G!

I am really excited about today's STEM Fierceness post. I'd like to highlight a dear friend of mine, Treda Smith Grayson. When I first met Treda years ago, I was totally intrigued by her career path. She works in the field of marine biology and loves all things related to the water. Boy, talk about laughing in the face of stereotypes and myths. Treda is an awesome person and has a brilliant mind. We're not just friends. We are part of the same service organization, SisterMentors, a support group for women of color earning their Ph.D.s. In turn, we, the SisterMentors, mentor girls of color on the weekends. Treda actually called me and told me to watch Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry's show on girls in STEM. She's an awesome woman doing awesome work, and her story is one of tenaciousness, grit, and belief in one's self.  Let's learn a bit about her story in her own words.  

Treda at work in the water. 

Introduce yourself to the readers. 

My name is Treda Smith Grayson.  I am employed as an Environmental Protection Specialist in the Office of Water at the US Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters.  I lead a national program to assess the condition of the nation's estuarine and coastal waters.

What is your education background?

I have a B.S. in Marine Science with Biology and German minors from Coastal Carolina University, and a M.S. degree in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Johns Hopkins.  I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University (Fall 2014 will be here before I know it!!!!!).

How did you become interested in science? Who were the influential people in your career decisions and interests? 

I have always loved being around water.  Growing up in Central Virginia, my family and I spent a great deal of time fishing, crabbing, boating and recreating in water.  I remember our trips to the beach where I would just sit on the beach and dig in the sand to find little animals to keep in my bucket. In school, my favorite lessons  were always about the ocean and the Chesapeake Bay.  When I was 6 years old, we went on vacation to Monterey and Santa Cruz, California, where we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It was there that I learned more about marine biology and for the first time learned about being a marine biologist.  Even then I didn't fully know what a marine biologist actually was, but I knew that it meant working in or near water, and that was what I wanted to do in some fashion.  After that, I spent countless hours reading our set of encyclopedias and tucked in a corner of the public library reading about oceans, sea animals, waves, and beaches (Don't Judge Me!).  Throughout grade, middle and high school, I pursued my love of all things science and math, and was absolutely elated when I found Coastal Carolina University's (CCU) marine science program.  At the time, CCU was one of just a few universities on the east coast (besides several schools in Florida) that offered B.S. programs in Marine Science.  I say time and again, going to CCU was one of the best decisions that I ever made.  

As for those that influenced me most, I would have to say without a doubt my parents.  They admit that for a while, they had no idea what I was talking about when I said I wanted to be a marine biologist at such a young age.  All they knew is it excited me and they did everything that they could to nurture this eagerness they saw in me.  Never once did they try to urge me to go in another direction.  They believed in me, supported me, and have been my biggest fans every step of this journey.  I will always be grateful and love them for their unwavering support and love.

What does a typical workday look like for you?

Because I am not in a field cycle at the moment, my typical workday is filled with meetings, meetings to prepare and analyze data collected back in 2010, direct contractor activities and to begin planning for the 2015 field season.  During the field season, if I'm not out on a boat sampling with or auditing a state field crew, I'm in the office managing the day to day operations to keep the project running smoothly.  The beauty of my job is the opportunity to not be stuck in the office all of the time.  I do enjoy those moments out on the water here and there.  

What do you love most about your career? 

I think what I love most about my career (especially in the federal government) is that I am able to take my science and policy background and directly apply it to help solve real world science and policy issues.  Sure, there are those times when I feel bogged down by the bureaucracy, but I'm constantly interacting with other federal agency and state partners, academicians, consultants and sometimes even policymakers.  I have had numerous opportunities to give guest lectures, speak at conferences, and travel the country and the world.

Have you faced any unique challenges being a Black woman in a STEM field? If so, what are they? 

I wish that I could say that I have not had to face any challenges as a Black woman in the STEM field, but that would be a lie.  The thing I have encountered most is some people assuming that I don't know what I'm talking about because I am a Black female.  How many Black women do you know in the marine science field, or more broadly in the monitoring and assessment field that I currently work in?  I have been fortunate enough to a participant in various programs through the years to recruit, support and encourage people of color to engage in the STEM field.  These programs have provided me with a network of colleagues that understand the day to day trials that we collectively face, and it is good to when we come out successfully on the other side.  

What are your future plans for your career? 

I really like being able to apply my technical background to address science and science policy-related issues.  I see myself continuing along this vein, perhaps becoming a senior science advisor either in the federal government, or even on Capitol Hill at some point in my career.

Who do you admire in the STEM profession? 

Those that I admire most in the STEM profession, ironically happen to be in the marine science/oceanography world: Rita Colwell and Sylvia Earle, both of which are legends in the field and charted paths for those of us that come behind them.  I must not forget my lifeline of mentors of color that have helped to keep me afloat all of these years:Dr. Deidre Gibson (Hampton University), Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson (University of South Carolina), Dr. Ambrose Jearld (NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service) and Dr. Brandon Jones (US EPA).

What advice do you have for Black girls who are interested in careers in STEM? 

I would offer the following advice to Black girls interested in careers in STEM- Be persistent, confident, seek encouraging mentors, most importantly, know that you DO belong in this space, in this field, and in this career.  Never believe when someone tells you that you don't belong, as you have as much favor, aptitude, and knowledge as the next person.

Impressive, right? I told you all she was awesome. I'm totally inspired by Treda. She's one of my personal heroines. 

Until next time. . . be fierce, in STEM or wherever you choose to make your mark! 

Stem Fierceness: Ms. Hickson

This was originally posted on my personal blog in February 2013

This morning in the STEM Fierceness series, I'd like to highlight an amazing woman doing amazing work with young people. Tanya and I met when we were about 19 years old in our Finite Mathematics class.  Little did we know we'd become the best of friends.  She was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and we still find ourselves talking math and education to this day.  Tanya started teaching AP Calculus a few years ago, and I've watched her grow as a teacher. Best believe if I have a mathematics question, she's one of my first calls!

Ms. Hickson in her classroom

In celebration of Black women in STEM, I asked Tanya if she'd like to be featured on the blog, and she happily obliged. Without further adieu, here's a little about her experiences in mathematics in her own words.

Introduce yourself to the readers. 

I'm Tanya Hickson, high school mathematics teacher. I teach Algebra II, Precalculus, and AP Calculus. 

What is your education background? 

BS in Math Education from Florida A&M University

How did you become interested in mathematics?  

I believe that I have always had a thing for math. I can remember winning the multiplication contests every time in elementary school. I guess you could say I was always pretty good in math through out my primary and secondary education years. 

I took this picture of Tanya's classroom board from her Instagram account. This certainly isn't multiplication. 

What does a typical workday look like for you? 

Oh goodness! Well, we are on an A/B day block, which means I don't see all of my students everyday. I see some students on "A" days, and I see others on "B" days. I'd say A days are my heaviest days. I go from teaching Algebra 2 , then PreCalculus, then I finish the day off with my only AP Calculus class. My brain is fried by the time I get home. 

What do you love most about your career? 
I think that one of the best things about teaching a subject that you love is to see your students have that same passion for the subject as you. I love to see my classes get into a debate about what method was better to solve a certain problem. I also when my students tell me that I have inspired their love for math. Not many of them express this!  However, the few that have leave me feeling good. 

A Valentine's Day gift from one of Tanya's student; how sweet! 

Have you faced any unique challenges being a Black woman in a STEM field? If so, what are they? 
I am one of two black women currently teaching AP Calculus in my district.  One of the things I have noticed is how people react to me when they see me enter a meeting room, as if they are surprised.

What are your future plans for your career?
 I see myself working on high school curriculum at the district-level in my school system.

What advice do you have for girls who are interested in careers in STEM? 
Stay the course.  Continue to progress in your educational journey.

I'm so grateful to Tanya for sharing her experiences is STEM. She's an awesome teacher, and she's touched the lives of so many students from all backgrounds and walks of life. She's definitely giving us STEM fierceness.

Until next time. . . go be fierce!

STEM Fierceness

This was originally posted on my personal blog in February 2013. 

Get into this!

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I was on the verge of catching the Holy Ghost when I saw this segment on Melissa Haris-Perry's show. I almost missed it, but one of my fellow sisters in the STEM struggle (who you'll read about on this blog!) sent me a text to get to the TV pronto. It seems serendipitous that Melissa Harris-Perry decided to discuss girls and women in STEM, as it coincides with my desire to feature Black women doing amazing work in STEM fields.

Harris-Perry's show was about women, more generally, in STEM, but I'm going to narrow my posts to Black women in STEM, and not just because it's February. I stand with all of my sisters who work to make their mark in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology, but I know the realities of being a Black girl in a sea of faces that don't look like yours. I know what it feels like to have people watch you at work and to look at you with disbelief, almost as if they are shocked that you know what you know. I know what it's like to have people distrust your answers to math problems even though you're absolutely right. I know the feeling of being treated as an anomaly when you know you really aren't one; others just didn't have the same opportunities. I'm not saying that women of other races and ethnicities don't experience these things, nor am I saying that all of these instances should be attributed solely to race. I just prefer (for now) to narrow my posts to something I know really well - living life and succeeding in mathematics at the Black-female intersection. Click on the previous link to learn about Dr. Patricia Hill Collins and her amazing work on this subject.

Last week, I highlighted Dr. Haynes as the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D in Mathematics. For the next few posts in the STEM Fierceness series, I'll be highlighting women who are presently making strides in STEM fields. Remember, we make history EVERYDAY! Though most of us won't be featured in history books or on television, we can still make an impact in our communities,  and we can etch ourselves into the memories of those whose lives we inspire.

Hold on, there's lots of STEM fierceness headed your way! If you know someone who should be featured, hit me up! I'd love to feature them.

Until next time...be fierce!

Being Black, Loving Mathematics, and Making History

This was originally posted on my personal blog in February 2013. Enjoy! 

First, a little mood music for this post. I present Mathematics by Mos Def for your listening pleasure:

Mathematics and race - two topics that probably seem unrelated on the surface, yet they are related in ways that often go unnoticed. Rhetoric regarding the achievement gap and underperforming Black students ultimately lead some to believe that Black children are, by virtue of being Black, inherently intellectually inferior. A few years ago, I started to notice articles and images in popular media spreading the absolutely false notion that Black people cannot achieve success in mathematics. I started keeping track of these images and articles, and I plan to use them in a course that I teach where we discuss contemporary issues in mathematics and science education. I hope that these pieces of media will serve as starting points for discussion, reflection, and, ultimately, change in mathematics classrooms. Below are a few of them.

My mouth hit the floor when I saw this cartoon:

Absolutely disgusting

And another ridiculous one: 

Really?!?!

While not nearly as damaging as the others, Aaron McGruder, author of The Boondocks, even tackles the issue of Black students and their relationship with mathematics:

Yeah, we could boo each other, but this issue is FAR more complex.

When I arrived at graduate school, I thought that I was going to research ways to "close the gap" between Black students and their White and Asian counterparts. While eliminating existing test disparities is important, I now understand issues of race and academic achievement in new, complex ways - ways, that you'll hear about on this blog. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities to read the works of new and seasoned scholars like Asa Hilliard, Claude Steele, Prudence Carter, Christopher Emdin, Erica Walker, and Danny Martin. 

Through reading and studying scholars such as these, I've learned that it is not enough to push teachers and students to work hard to pass standardized exams. Earning passing scores on these assessments does not equate to attaining academic excellence. These tests are floors, not ceilings. In an effort to create more sustained solutions to remedying the miseducation of Black children, we as  stakeholders have to examine our underlying assumptions about Black students and their ability to do math. Furthermore, we have to look and the systems in place that continue to produce students who are not successful in mathematics or any subject area for that matter. 

During this month (and other months, of course) I'd like to use my voice to highlight Black excellence in mathematics (and science, too!). Black people have always had a place in the history of mathematics. From Africa to the present, and we are continuing making our mark! 

I love mathematics. I don't claim to be the best at it, nor do I claim to be a math wiz, but the challenge of it keeps me interested and engaged and keeps me signing up for courses on coursera.com that I really don't have the time to take. Loving mathematics and being Black have never been in opposition to each other in my mind. I, like many of my friends, have had lots of success in mathematics and have grown to love the content. My love for the subject deepened as I attended Florida A&M University. Our professors made sure that we never saw being excellent in mathematics and being Black as mutually exclusive. There's just something that is powerful in the air when everyone in your Differential Equations class looks just like you. I hope that in my years of teaching high school math, I passed a little bit of this love and pride along to my students. 

So I will use this space and my voice to highlight Black women and men who have made impressive strides in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. I'm even going to highlight some of my favorite Black folks that make mathematics history every day - in classrooms, at universities, and in professional fields. I mean, Quintessa was important, but I've gotta let some other folks have some shine.

Until next time...Do the math and go make history! 

Hello and Welcome!

A big hello to everyone in cyberspace. I'm Toya Jones Frank, blogger, doctoral student, and future mathematics education professor. I keep a personal blog, but from time to time, I find myself blogging about STEM equity issues. I've decided to branch off and create a separate space to talk about equity in STEM fields, and thus, STEM Fierceness has been born. 

STEM, acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, is a hot topic right now. Schools with STEM foci are popping up all over the place.  Everyone wants to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science for students, and I do as well. I just believe that in addition to focusing on content and classroom pedagogy, we have to attend to the affective dimensions of teaching and learning these subjects, and that's the purpose of this blog. I am creating a space for critical thought about affective and equity-related issues to teaching and learning mathematics and science.

I'll be moving my older posts about stem and equity from my personal blog to this site, but also be on the lookout for new posts. Feel free to share your ideas and comments!