Confronting the Asian Model Minority Stereotype in STEM: Unheard Stories of Asian Students in American Schools

Event Date: March 2, 2017
Speaker: Minjung Ryu
Speaker Affiliation: Assistant Professor of Chemical Education, Purdue University
Type: Research Seminar
Time: 3:30 - 4:20 PM
Location: Arms B071
Priority: No
School or Program: Engineering Education
College Calendar: Show
Minjung Ryu
Minjung Ryu
Students of Asian descent are often portrayed as a model minority, in particular in STEM-related school subjects, college majors, and workforce. Indeed, national data show that Asians as a whole are over-represented in STEM fields. However, the sweeping notion of Asians’ success in STEM fails to acknowledge discrepancies between different groups of Asian students (e.g., East Asians vs. Southeast Asians, gender, socioeconomic status, years of living in the U.S.), microaggressions and marginalization that Asian students experience in various learning settings, and struggles and needs of some students.

 

In this seminar, Dr. Ryu will present her previous and current research that investigates Asian students’ lived experiences in STEM learning settings and engages Asian students in the doing and talking of science. Implications for research and teaching practices will be discussed in light of the recent changes in STEM education contexts, student demographics in K-16 education, and the political climate in the United States.

Bio | Dr. Ryu started her career as a chemist in industry. While studying chemistry in schools and working as a chemist, she had been curious about why chemistry, and science in general, is so hard to some people, how people learn chemistry, and what it means to learn chemistry. She transitioned to education to pursue those questions and received her Ph.D. in science education. At Purdue, she teaches chemistry and science teaching methods for students who want to become a teacher. In her research, Dr. Ryu seeks to understand issues around diversity, equity, language, and participation in formal and informal science learning settings. She hopes to find ways to design more equitable science learning environments in order to make science accessible to everyone and empower all learners.