NSF-funded STEM education initiative
VOICES
Advancing Inclusive STEM Education
VOICES supports faculty in designing classroom activities and teaching approaches that connect STEM learning to students’ lived experiences, communities, and future careers.
What is VOICES?
VOICES is a faculty-centered initiative at John Jay College that works to make STEM teaching more engaging, inclusive, and relevant for students from historically underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.
The project supports the development of classroom activities, open educational resources, and teaching strategies that strengthen student belonging, science identity, and interest in STEM pathways.
Our Core Goals
Increase Interest in STEM
Create learning experiences that help Black, Brown, first-generation, and underserved students see themselves in STEM disciplines and careers.
Share Faculty Activities
Develop and publish adaptable classroom activities that faculty at John Jay and other institutions can use in their own STEM courses.
Expand Inclusive Teaching Resources
Provide DEI-centered STEM teaching resources that help educators make science and mathematics instruction more relevant and equitable.
Why This Work Matters
STEM success depends on more than content mastery alone. VOICES focuses on how students experience STEM classrooms—supporting belonging, engagement, and stronger connections between coursework and future possibilities.
Belonging
Students are more likely to persist in STEM when classroom experiences help them feel included, capable, and connected to their disciplines.
Science Identity
VOICES encourages teaching approaches that help students see themselves as future scientists, researchers, analysts, and problem-solvers.
Open Sharing
The site is designed to share classroom strategies, faculty innovations, and resources that other institutions can adapt and build on.
Explore VOICES
Activities Library
Browse faculty-developed STEM activities designed to deepen engagement and connect learning to students’ experiences and aspirations.
Teaching Resources
Access DEI-centered STEM teaching resources, implementation ideas, and materials that can support inclusive classroom practice.
Faculty & Team
Meet the faculty contributors and project leadership advancing new approaches to inclusive STEM education through VOICES.
Featured Conversation
Watch Professor Delgado-Cruzata and VOICES faculty discuss new classroom activities and approaches to STEM teaching.
Project Leadership
VOICES is led by Dr. Lissette Delgado-Cruzata in collaboration with faculty and institutional partners committed to transforming the STEM student experience.
Lissette Delgado-Cruzata, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor and VOICES Project Lead
Want to contribute?
Are you developing a STEM activity, assignment, or teaching resource that helps students connect science learning to community, identity, or career pathways? VOICES welcomes collaboration.
