Dan Petrescu Speaker Series featuring Prof. Sara Brownell on Faculty Identity in the Science Classroom

Title: Faculty identity in the science classroom: Who is represented, what factors influence revealing concealable identities, and how does revealing affect students?

Faculty as role models and mentors can positively impact students, but yet we know little about the identities of faculty.  In this study, we collected data from over 2000 faculty across the United States to document what percentage have concealable stigmatized identities, to what extent they reveal these identities to students in their classes, and how revealing these identities may positively impact students. 

Sara Brownell is a biology education researcher whose research focuses on making undergraduate science learning environments more inclusive.  Trained as a Ph.D. neuroscientist, she transitioned to discipline-based education research and is an expert on course-based undergraduate research experiences and making undergraduate science learning experiences, specifically active learning courses and undergraduate research experiences, more inclusive.  Her research focuses on students with concealable stigmatized identities such as religious students, LGBTQ+ students, and students with disabilities, as well as the impact on students of instructors revealing these identities in the context of the classroom. Her research in biology education has been internationally recognized and featured in Science Magazine, as well as in numerous news outlets, including the NY Times, CNN, and Scientific American.

Time: 4/4/2023, 10:30-11:30am 
Location: 2001 McGill College, Room 102
REGISTER HERE 

More details to come! Please contact Rebecca Brosseau (rebecca.brosseau [at] mail.mcgill.ca) with any questions or accessibility concerns.