Working towards a Culture of Inclusive Teaching and Learning in Science and Mathematics at the University of British Columbia

The Science Student Diversity Initiative at the University of British Columbia (UBC), launched in 2019, aims to build capacity within science and mathematics programs and classrooms to create and sustain inclusive environments for teaching and learning. This collaborative initiative is a partnership between Skylight (Science Centre for Learning and Teaching), UBC Science, and the central UBC Equity and Inclusion Office, and is grounded in strategies and practices of Inclusive Excellence (Williams et al., 2005). The impetus for this grassroots UBC Science-specific initiative grew out of student, staff, and faculty concerns around belonging and community within our programs and the growing need for a more strategic focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). For this poster, we will highlight the people, processes, and next steps involved with this critical work to promote cultural change. This initiative is led by a team of committed faculty, staff, and students, and in particular, supported by an Equity Strategist acting as a change agent to build awareness and capacity among our community. A comprehensive needs analysis was a key starting point for better understanding our cultural context and was explored by: facilitating workshops with faculty members, reviewing undergraduate student experience surveys, conducting interviews with students, department heads, and EDI leaders, and consulting literature and practices around EDI in STEM education. These efforts revealed strengths and gaps in the EDI space and informs our current work of leading and supporting EDI specific projects, training, and resource development. Being able to present our work is an opportunity to share our approach for institutional change, to gain insight and feedback from others, and to have a broader discussion around how EDI activities are being infused into and evaluated in higher education.