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April L. Luehmann & Science STARS Team, University of Rochester, Warner Graduate School of Education
Social justice is the shared work of many. In this talk, I report on how one long-term learning experience called Science STARS is both designed for and lived in ways that synergistically merge three diverse learning communities (urban teen girls, pre-service science teachers and social justice researchers), positioning each as resources for the others’ productive identity wanderings and development. I argue that each group brings uniquely valuable experiences and perspectives, as well as differential influences of power to the shared spaces that the learners from the other groups need. Through the ongoing, co-construction of a shared and evolving culture, members of each group develop identities that further positive social change for under-represented groups in science.
April Luehmann joined the Warner School community in 2002 as a science educator, teaching in the science teacher preparation and doctoral programs. She completed graduate degrees in science education and industrial and operations engineering, and previously
taught mathematics and science to secondary school students in Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. She also instructed science and math teachers in the Chicago Public Schools in a special professional development initiative at the Illinois Institute of Technology,
and served on the Board of Trustees for Girls, Inc., a national nonprofit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.
Luehmann focuses her research on the design and use of new media literacies, out-of-school learning contexts and experiences, and innovative teacher development programs to explicitly address issues of equity and social justice through the transformation of
participation structures for and between secondary science teachers and all science students, especially those in traditionally disadvantaged schools. Since coming to Rochester in 2002, she has also designed and worked with graduate students to teach science
summer camps and school-year programs to develop or capitalize on girls’ interest in science. Luehmann’s scholarly work and teaching have received recognition. Most recently, she was presented with the University of Rochester’s 2008 G. Graydon ‘58 and Jane
W. Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Nontenured Member of the Faculty.
For more information about Dr. Luehmann: http://www.warner.rochester.edu/facultystaff/luehmann
This event is co-hosted by Teacher Education at the College of Education and CREATE for STEM Institute