1. Jennifer Bekki
  2. Associate Professor
  3. Roses Growing From Concrete
  4. https://coleyspacelab.com/
  5. Arizona State University
  1. Brooke Coley
  2. http://coleyspacelab.com
  3. Assistant Professor
  4. Roses Growing From Concrete
  5. https://coleyspacelab.com/
  6. Arizona State University
  1. Kerrie Wilkins-Yel
  2. Assistant Professors
  3. Roses Growing From Concrete
  4. https://coleyspacelab.com/
  5. University of Massachusetts Boston
Public Discussion

Continue the discussion of this presentation on the Multiplex. Go to Multiplex

  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 9, 2022 | 06:04 p.m.

    Welcome to the Roses Growing from Concrete video highlighting our work from the National Science Foundation Collaborative Research Project entitled, What Black Doctoral Students in STEM Want & What Their Faculty are Giving: How the Differences Impact Students’ Mental Health and Career Trajectory Decisions. We are early in the project (Year 1 of 3) and have chosen to focus sharing results from our participatory action research method pilot conducted in the form of a photovoice study. Specifically, we asked Black doctoral students to represent their experiences in navigating STEM environments through collected and selected photographs. Our Co-Constructors (name given to research study participants working with us to generate this new knowledge and meaning) took photographs in their environment and submitted them labeled with descriptive captions to our research team. Following submission of the pictures, we held focus group conversations with multiple co-constructors at a time to discuss the submitted photographs and to reflect on the deeper meanings and representations associated with them. We found the rich discussions to reveal layered significance to the pictures, which was not explicitly stated in the captions. We are now reflecting on our pilot and invite you to share your perspectives, critiques, feedback, questions, and considerations. Below are a few questions to stimulate thoughts related to our video. We’d love to have you engage with us!

    1) What is your most important takeaway from the video?

    2) How might participatory action research methods be leveraged to advance transformative changes in toxic STEM cultures?

    3) What do you see as a potential impact of this work and who is responsible for acting upon what we learn?

     

     

     
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    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Remy Dou

    Remy Dou

    Facilitator
    Assistant Professor
    May 10, 2022 | 11:37 p.m.

    Hi, Dr. Coley and Team, thank you for this wonderful submission and more importantly for your collaborative work with students. I was moved by the narrative, the images, and the text and find myself reflecting on post-qualitative approaches to engaging with "truths" in ways that inspire feeling, emotion, and ultimately action. There seems to be embedded in your methods and approach an inherent platform for communicating the purpose of this work and the action you and your team hope to inspire.

    I also find myself wondering about the relationships between research method/design, communication, and impact in action research. What are some ways someone less familiar with action research reframe or restructure their approach to research if they want to highlight those types of relationships? I suspect there are multiple answers to this question, so I pose it to anyone interested in sharing their perspective.

  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 11, 2022 | 11:31 a.m.

    Hi, Dr. Dou, 

    Thank you so much for your comment. We felt the use of photovoice could be a powerful way of disseminating our findings because using photos or another artifact communicates more than a regular interview would. In photovoice activity basically, students are making meaning of their doctoral journey and at the same time interacting with their peers. They are becoming part of a community through their shared activity and conversation. So, I would say the research question plays the most important role-RQs decide how you can integrate postmodern ways of thinking-as you pointed out that there is not a single truth in qualitative research. Also, the research question decides the methods. For example, in one of our studies with community college students we used photographs to build rapport with the participants, it was not a regular photo elicitation. We used photographs at the beginning of the interview so that they share more later. Hence, a lot of activities can be included in a study to empower the participants at the same time those activities will capture the essence of their experiences. 

     
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    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Cali Anicha

    Cali Anicha

    Researcher
    May 11, 2022 | 01:04 p.m.

    An important take-away for me from your video - that poetry and visual-language based data communicate in meaningful and nuanced ways that dependence on only verbal-descriptive language cannot... I look forward to hearing your reflections on the pilot - and the potential for using the approach - either at my own institution and/or perhaps via a cohort/network of STEM organizations...?  Do you have plans for a publication?

     
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    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 11, 2022 | 07:26 p.m.

    Yes, we do. Let's connect. Please email at dmaitra1@asu.edu or Broke.Coley@asu.edu

  • Icon for: Vivian Guilfoy

    Vivian Guilfoy

    Researcher
    May 11, 2022 | 03:09 p.m.

    This project offers an excellent and unique way to capture the meaning behind the experiences of Black doctoral students in STEM. I can imagine the rich discussions in the focus group among co-constructors and thinking about the challenge you have to capture and share the power of the research and the findings, while preserving the very personal elements of the stories they reveal. Working for equity systems change means looking past the obvious rhetoric, and this project offers a special way to capture new understanding that can feed improved policies and actions that support success for the next generation of STEM students.  I will be interested in learning more and following your  findings to inform what we are doing in our work.  

     
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    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 11, 2022 | 07:29 p.m.

    Vivian,

    Thank you for your comment. Let's connect beyond this platform. Please email dmaitra1@asu.edu /Brooke.Coley@asu.edu. We are still at the pilot stage for photovoice, we will do the actual photovoice in the month of June. We will have richer data and more in-depth conversation.

  • Icon for: LaShawnda Lindsay

    LaShawnda Lindsay

    Facilitator
    Research Scientist
    May 11, 2022 | 05:19 p.m.

    Thank you for preparing this visual representation of your important work.  This work has the potential to make a positive contribute to the literature related to STEM recruitment and retention of Black  graduate students.

    I am curious about the data collection  and analysis procedures:

    How many students were included in the study?

    What are the demographics of the participants (age, gender and ethnicity (Black is a broad racial category)?

    How long did the participate in the study? How many photos were taken and submitted?

    How was the data analyzed? 

    What about focus group data used?  How was the data used and does the video include data from the focus groups?

  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 12, 2022 | 03:29 a.m.

    Hi LaShawnda,

    We are doing this study in two different phases, first, we are interviewing currently enrolled students in a doctoral program(n=40 ), and then we are interviewing the students who ( n=20) made an early departure from their Ph.D. programs.

    Black doctoral students-we considered a diverse range of Black identities for example gender, gender identity, orientation, immigration status, international student vs domestic student, ability, and other life roles and responsibilities were considered. One of the goals of this study is to deconstruct the monolithic Black identity.

    This film was made from the pilot version of the study and we had total 10 participants. They submitted 3-4 photographs and then we interviewed them and asked about the meaning of those photographs. The actual photo voice for our project is scheduled for the month of June. The participants (co-constructors) will take an online photovoice training and thej they will be assigned in a group (based on similar identities) to talk about their photographs. 

    We are planning for narrative analysis and we are open to exploring different ways of doing narrative analysis.

     
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    LaShawnda Lindsay
    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: LaShawnda Lindsay

    LaShawnda Lindsay

    Facilitator
    Research Scientist
    May 12, 2022 | 12:02 p.m.

    Hello Dr. Coley,

    Thank you for this information.  It seems that you have a clear plan for unpacking the lived experiences of your target population. I would love to learn more about your online photovoice training. 

    Dr. Lindsay

     

  • Icon for: Meagan Pollock

    Meagan Pollock

    NAPE Consultant + Founder, Engineer Inclusion
    May 11, 2022 | 08:06 p.m.

    Beautiful narrative, Dr. Coley! May we change the culture and systems so students can thrive in environments that support them and cultivate their well-being. 🟢

     
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    Remy Dou
  • Icon for: Harrison Pinckney

    Harrison Pinckney

    Facilitator
    Assistant Professor
    May 11, 2022 | 10:57 p.m.

    Dr. Coley and team, I really appreciated the tone of this video presentation. The Pac reference provided a perfect illustration of how students underserved communities are able to thrive in STEM disciplines. The project's emphasis of mental health is worth noting as it is tempting for faculty to focus on the products of doctoral students without giving attention to lived realities that might impact students' abilities to thrive in their programs. I loved the methodology and analysis. I am interested to learn more about how these findings can be translated into recommended practices for STEM faculty seeking to mentor Black (and possibly other racially marginalized) doctoral students.

  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 12, 2022 | 10:17 a.m.

    Dr, Pinckney, 

    Thank you so much for your comment. We are at the preliminary phase of the grant, it started last fall. Yes, we are currently interviewing Black doctoral students and during the next phase, we will also interview faculty members. So far, our findings suggest that often faculty members themselves perpetuate racism, microaggression, and discrimination. Definitely a sense of cultural sensitivity is needed.

    One recommendation would be -it's ok to talk about race which most faculty avoid having a conversation with as they fear to be inappropriate. 

  • Icon for: Vivian Guilfoy

    Vivian Guilfoy

    Researcher
    May 12, 2022 | 11:19 a.m.

    I think you would be interested in our project which has developed an Equity Systems Change Compass. It is a tool designed to help groups engage in difficult conversations about the root causes of inequity and move from discussions to actions that change the status quo. We would be happy to explore ways that we might collaborate. 

  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 13, 2022 | 04:08 a.m.

    Vivian,

    Thank you for your comment. Sounds like a great resource for our project too- we are also trying different techniques so that we can have the "difficult" conversation around race. Do you have any published document that we can possibly refer to? Also, please feel free to send an email so that we can possibly collaborate. dmaitra1@asu.edu/Brooke.Coley@asu.edu

  • Icon for: Vivian Guilfoy

    Vivian Guilfoy

    Researcher
    May 13, 2022 | 09:24 a.m.

    Our publication and Equity Compass tool will be available in a couple weeks and we'll alert you.  Info about the publication is available on our video discussion.  You can also check out stelar.edc.org.  Hope we can find some ways to collaborate.  

  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 13, 2022 | 10:12 a.m.

    Thank you Vivian. Looking forward.

  • Icon for: Janet Coffey

    Janet Coffey

    Funder
    May 14, 2022 | 12:26 a.m.

    Very powerful video!  We all have a lot to learn from what you learn. Thank you!

  • Icon for: Brooke Coley

    Brooke Coley

    Higher Ed Faculty
    May 14, 2022 | 10:58 a.m.

    Janet,

    We just launched the data collection for -collaborative Proposal: What Black Doctoral Students in STEM Want & What Their Faculty are Giving: How the Differences Impact Students’ Mental Health and Career Trajectory Decisions-project. Now, we are having conversation with Black doctoral students, later we will talk to the students who made an early departure from the program. For our next phase of the study, we will interview the faculty members. We will know more about the gap in terms of advising and mentoring once we interview the faculty.