Implementing Equity-Mindedness in Your Class

Professor of Psychology, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at California State University Northridge

Dr. Gabriela Chavira is a professor of Psychology at California State University Northridge (CSUN). She earned her doctorate in developmental psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Currently, she is the lead principal investigator for BUILD PODER, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), where she developed and implemented an undergraduate research experience (URE) that provides culturally responsive undergraduate training in the biological sciences. She was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) HSI STEM grant to create an office of undergraduate research called ESTUDIO. She is also a Senior Personnel on an NSF Advance grant to increase and retain the number of minoritized women faculty in Engineering.

She uses Critical Race Theory (CRT) as framework to engage over 360 undergraduate minoritized students, primarily of Latinx descent, in preparation for doctoral studies through year-long faculty mentored research. Her interdisciplinary research examines the factors contributing to the well‐being and achievement of immigrant youth in the US. Chavira started as an NIH Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) scholar at CSUN and is a passionate and committed advocate for student access and success, receiving the campus-wide Don Dorsey Award for Excellence in Mentoring in 2013, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) 2020 Outstanding University Mentor, and CSUN’s 2021 Outstanding Faculty Award.

Associate Professor of Psychology, School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia

Dr. Jamie Jirout (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia, where she is in the Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Policy in the School of Education and Human Development. Dr. Jirout’s research focuses on the role of curiosity and related intellectual character virtues in children’s learning, as well as the influence of educational contexts and experiences on curiosity and learning. She is also very interested in researching playful learning and early STEM education. Her research informs her teaching and she designs her courses with intentional goals around promoting student curiosity. Dr. Jirout teaches courses on child development, educational psychology, and cognitive psychology and education, using innovative methods such as specifications grading that support student autonomy. She has recently merged her teaching and scholarship by conducting SoTL research on her own courses. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Miami and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University.

Associate Professor of Child, Youth, and Family Studies, College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Dr. Soo-Young Hong is an associate professor in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and her research focuses on early childhood science teaching and learning and inclusive early childhood education practices. Dr. Hong has taught various undergraduate and graduate courses related to human development and early care and education over the last 14 years including Human Development and the Family, Theories of Human Development and Family Relations, College Teaching Seminar and Practicum, and Cognitive Processes in Children. She has extensive experience in teaching online, in-person, and hybrid courses and always seeks opportunities to learn about research-based inclusive teaching strategies and their impact on student learning. For the last several years, Dr. Hong has invested significant amount of time and effort to learn about, implement, and reflect on equity-minded approaches to assessments, Universal Design for Learning, inclusive teaching strategies, and Learning Paradigm College to provide students with meaningful learning experiences that enable all students to meet their learning goals and outcomes.