UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence will host Bryan Dewsbury, associate professor of biology and associate director of the STEM Transformation Institute at Florida International University, to share his expertise in inclusive teaching in STEM fields and beyond.  

“What excites me about Dr. Dewsbury is that he has a background in STEM and can speak to the experiences of faculty teaching in STEM disciplines, but his expertise in inclusive and equitable teaching and his suggested strategies are applicable to all disciplines,” said Beate Brunow, who serves associate director and associate research professor at the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. “Dewsbury’s research on inclusive and equitable teaching has had a broad impact and some of his work is also included in the Schreyer Institute’s provost endorsement on inclusive and equitable teaching.” 

Dewsbury is also principal investigator of the Science Education and Society (SEAS) research program, which blends research on the social context of teaching and learning, faculty development of inclusive practices and programming in the cultivation of equity in education. He is a co-editor of the “Norton Guide to Equity Minded Teaching.” Dewsbury also serves as a Director at the RIOS (Racially-Just Inclusive STEM Education) Institute which conducts projects at the intersection of Open STEM and social justice. He is the host of the podcast “Knowledge Unbound,” an interview podcast featuring conversations with individuals involved in social justice and equity work in STEM education and education in general.  

In his interactive talk, “Beyond Content — Teaching for Civic Engagement and Participation,” Dewsbury will note that college teaching has traditionally been viewed solely for the dispensation of subject matter expertise. While he will allude to the continued importance of that function, he will focus this interactive talk on the underemphasized role classrooms can play in helping students cultivate the skills that help them civically engage in a socially just world. In this session Dewsbury will make the case, with evidence, as to why that matters, and suggest strategies for participants to consider in their own classrooms. 

Registration is open now for both the virtual session on March 18 and in-person session on March 21.