This report looks at the contribution of unconscious bias (UB) to the troubling achievement gap for women and minority students, especially in Computer Science and STEM courses. The report indicates that exposure to UB can change stereotyped groups’ behaviors to conform to the stereotype, even when it was initially untrue. It details existing research studies of interventions to address UB, which includes student-facing interventions designed to buffer students from the impact, and teacher-facing interventions that target teacher bias directly. It concludes with a call for technology industry leaders, educators, and researchers to work together to design and rigorously test teacher-facing interventions that may reduce unconscious bias.
This in-depth overview of research will be of interest to any educator or other stakeholders, including leaders in the technology industry who are interested in issues of equity in teaching and learning. The report may also be of particular interest to education researchers and those in a position to design and test interventions. For more information on UB, this article provides a more brief overview of existing research.
Source Organization: Google for Education