Sum24 Culturally Responsive Teaching with ESCALA4

Summer 2024 Escala 4

Philosophy 104: Bioethics

Culturally-Responsive / Equity-Minded / Data-Driven

Reflection on Instructional Change:

1. My data dive for STEM-X Summer Vibes was revealing to me, as I used their equity index worksheet. For example, I noticed that my Latinx population was over-represented in the 'D' area. When I divide it up by gender as well, although I had a relatively small N (sample size), perhaps the most interesting thing is the difference between C- and D for Latinx males. If I could bump just one male student from C- to D, that would significantly affect the success of that individual student and also this chart on the "equity index worksheet."

2. While the book club "Grading for Equity" cast shade on extra credit, I remained optimistic that sunshine could still be justified here. So in my fully online asynchronous section, with an audience of upper-division undergraduates, typically taking the course as a GE Area D requirement and/or a distribution requirement for their major, I timed an EC opportunity around weeks 8-10 of a 15-week term. Its purpose was to give all students--but especially those at the border between a C and D in the course--a subject-relevant opportunity to earn extra credit consistent with the grading/EC policy announced in the syllabus.

3. The specific steps I took involved a Canvas Announcement discussing the upcoming 19th Annual Fall Ethics Symposium at Sac State, which would be held on October 28th with the theme of "Hope and Change". I mentioned that students who cannot attend in person can watch the event's recordings as an extra credit opportunity. Additionally, I planned to post a list of specific online talks that can be watched as an appropriate extra credit substitute for a given in-person event.

4. The Share and Analyze process gave me the chance to discuss how I would accommodate students who were unable to watch the "Hope and Change" event, and also how I would reach out specifically to those students who were on the border between a C and D grade, during that final weeks of school, to encourage them to take advantage of the extra credit opportunity advertised earlier via the Announcement.

**Evidence of Instructional Change**
Image from my Share and Analyze session showing my Canvas Announcement	Image of a workshop deliverable called Course Equity Index

Before Course Syllabus and Schedule

After Course Syllabus and Schedule

**Faculty Bio**
	Russell DiSilvestro is a professor and chair in Philosophy at Sacramento State. He works on the intersection between metaphysics and ethics, especially as it relates to contemporary bioethical issues involving the nature and moral status of human beings. He teaches PHIL 104: Bioethics and PHIL 181: Metaphysics.

Funding
	This work was supported by: US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project TECH4Equity US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM4Equity P031C210012 *Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the US Department of Education.