STS for Social Impact Inside and Outside the Lab: Navigating Innovation in Science and Technology Education at Station1

• In Event: Is STS an Innovation Discipline? Bridging Critique and Practice

Abstract

How might STS approaches be practically mobilized across disciplines and organizations to shape the ways that we might make science and engineering practices more inclusive, equitable and thoughtful? Building on the theme of this panel to integrate perspectives of those navigating between often disparate spheres of practice, this talk draws upon my own experience as an entrepreneur, educator, and researcher. I reflect on my role as co-founder of Station1, a non-profit educational institution that aims to promote inclusion, impact, through inquiry-based pedagogy in STEM, and the design process of creating consciously integrated curriculum in partnership with scientists and engineers. Navigating the necessary optimism and action of entrepreneurial thinking with the critical perspectives of STS, I offer this case study as an entry point to interrogate the hybrid identities created by STS-trained entrepreneurs and educators working with (and for) the promotion of change within practices of science and technology. I am to engage fellow panelists and the audience in discussion of practical approaches for making STS useful for partnering with scientists and engineers, working across boundaries, and shaping organizations.

Author

• Ellan Spero, MIT & Station1