The research community has recognized the need to provide instructional sup- port to different groups of students by recognizing, valuing, and integrating these students’ cultural experience and practices. This is especially important for sec- ondary school students, who are often not the focus of strategies and interventions for equity. Without bringing in students’ lived experience, equitable outcomes for students of color, such as high academic scores, placement in honors courses, positive science identities, healthy cross- cultural peer relationships, and, most importantly, a sense of identity that is empowered, are challenging to organize for [Carlone et al., 2011, Guti´errez, 2016, Lee and Buxton, 2010].
The aim of the equity-oriented and design-based approaches of the methodology utilized in this study is to ensure that the primary focus of attention is on building student-centered practices where students are brought to the center of and remain central to teaching and learning. This study aimed to contribute to the literature on teaching science and inform instructional models of science education for students of color and teachers of color. Even when strategies do not reach their object of equity, this failure can be illuminating in the process of designing equitable instruction [O’Neill, 2016].
One of the biggest implications of this study is the role of teachers of color in eq- uitable instruction and support of students of color. We are beginning to see studies that document the learning experience and practices of teachers of color in teacher education and education for equitable instruction. It is essential for the research community to continue along this direction and expand to provide more nuanced and diverse understandings of teacher learning and therefore teacher education programs.
Teacher education programs and the majority of the teacher population remain dom- inated by White perspectives.
Another common mistaken assumption is that teachers of color are often assumed to understand and engage in equitable instruction due to their lived experience of discrimination [Carter Andrews et al., 2019]. This erroneous assumption leads to underprepared teachers of color, which further aggravates the issues of Whiteness in teacher education [Mensah and Jackson, 2018b].
Engaging teachers as intellects in theory is also another implication for teacher ed- ucation [Ladson-Billings, 2001]: engagement in theory and critical reflections and as designers of curriculum and instruction. Historically, teachers are not positioned as intellects or agents of change and rely on “fallback” strategies such as direct instruc- tion for memorization and pre-packaged strategies developed by external stakeholders and view equity and inquiry as add-ons rather than central to science teaching. The SDE provided multiple opportunities for the teacher to engage in reflection about his practices and the perspectives of theory. Teachers and relevant stakeholders are often not provided with multiple opportunities to reflect on their practices [Guti´errez and Vossoughi, 2010]. Critical reflective practices are essential to transformation of deficit views and inequitable practices. We must position teachers as intellects and organize learning to they can engage in critical reflections about their own identities, biases, and practices.
Finally, an aspect that is beginning to gain attention but has not yet been discussed in relation to teacher learning is the emotional well-being of students and teachers. Very little is known about how student-teacher relationships and engaging in equitable practice influences the personal lives of teachers from a well-being perspective and
the role of emotion in teaching and learning [Spilt et al., 2011].
From a CHAT perspective, emotions are essential to cognition and are expressions of the body that have an impact in participation in an activity [Roth et al., 2009]. In this study, it was evident that the teacher also valued student emotions along with their academic performance. This trait of learning is under-theorized in science teaching and learning. Future studies could further examine the role of emotion in both student and teacher learning.
Related to emotion and well-being, teacher stress is a common issue and interferes with effective teaching of students. However, emotions and well-being are not often considered when examining teaching and learning, especially in science education, as science derived from a Western perspective is considered to be objective and lacking emotion [Bellocchi et al., 2017, ?]( Ingold, 2011). The lack of attention paid to health and well-being in Western science education is due to its origins in the Cartesian duality, where mind and body exist as separate planes, with the mind considered the priority or more important than the body [Merleau-Ponty, 1968]. Throughout the semester, during different instances of transforming his practice and interacting with his students and me, I noted that Andres often felt stressed with juggling everything occurring that semester. Nankin’s [I., 2016] research has shown how the tensions of teaching such as lack of institutional support or conflicting pedagogies, which are often associated with teachers engaged in equitable or social-justice oriented pedagogies, cause teacher stress and diminished well-being. Due to increased awareness about mental health and learning, researchers have begun to explore stress and decrease in mental health associated with individuals working toward social change. Social- justice fatigue is defined as “the physical, mental, and/or emotional toll incurred
through advocating for social change while serving as an agent of an institution of higher education” [Furr, 2018, p. 2]. I argue that equitable instructional models are necessary in order to value both students’ and teachers’ emotions and well-being.