Jennifer D. Adams
Calgary, Alberta
Position: Professor and Canada Research Chair
Organization: University of Calgary
Researcher with over 20 years of experience in STEMM education ranging from informal science education, museum education, secondary, postsecondary and teacher education. She is currently Tier 2 Canada Research Chair of Creativity, Equity, and STEM and Professor at The University of Calgary in Faculty of Science. She is the PI of the Creativity, Equity and STEM Lab where she leads her team in research on equity in STEM teaching and learning environments with an emphasis on identity-affirming, anti-deficit, desiring, and justice-oriented approaches. She is sought after for talks and workshops around her work in equity in postsecondary STEM. She is in leadership on several Canadian national projects including “Securing Black Futures” which seeks to increase the visibility and support the flourishing of Black students in STEM and the Canadian Black Scientists Network where she is the PI of the STEM Beyond Borders initiative that examines Black in STEMM equity-oriented research, policy and practice in Canada and the United States. Dr. Adams is the President of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching and was recognized by the Calgary Black Chambers with an award for Black Achievement in STEM. She is the author of “Informal Science Education and Teacher Learning” in Peter Lang Press. Her prior appointments include Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, the American Museum of Natural History, and The New York City Department of Education.
Areas of Expertise:
Language(s):
My Work
What I do:
My overarching areas of research are learning environments and learner identity with a focus on STEMM environments. I engage in qualitative, critical-oriented, arts-based, ethnograpic and culturally-meaningful methodologies to gain a broad perspective on learners experiences in relation to the places and spaces they learn. I am passionate about pluriversity in STEMM–learning how to engage non-hegemonic perspectives in addressing STEMM learning and socioscientific issues, for example leveraging Indigenous epistemologies to address research at all levels. I am also interested in the intersection of arts and science and how they can be co-informative. As a relatively senior scholar, I am also keen on nurturing the next generation of STEMM and STEMM education researchers through mentorship and creating spaces for them to be creative in their thinking and inquiry approaches.
Ask me about:
My main specialty is racial equity and STEMM for Black learners. This includes understanding the diversity of Black identities, the intersection of history and Black engagement in STEMM as well as Black Indigenous understandings of the world. With this work, I have gained broader expertise in teaching others how to foster inclusivity and belonging in STEMM learning contexts. I also have broader expertise in science learning and participation for underrepresented populations in STEMM.
Why me:
Creativity and nurturing non-conventional approaches to inquiry are my standout features. In my presentations if often draw on artists and their expressions to make salient points about STEMM learning and participation.
Fun facts:
In my “free” time I like endurance training and dancing.
About Me
Sector: Academia (Post Secondary)
English proficiency: Read, Write, Speak
Partner Orgainization: CISE-Atlantic
Willing to Mentor: Yes
Title: Dr.
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Gender: Female
Demographic: African/Black
Awards: National Science Foundation (US) Early CAREER Award