Dr. Takumi C. Sato

Dr. Takumi C. Sato is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Education and works with the Science Education program. He is also affiliated faculty with Africana Studies. His work has focused on race and racism in science education in K12 schools. He has developed two courses, Critical Race Theory in Education and Humanizing the K12 Classroom, to expand the equity and social justice focused offerings available to students. In the humanizing course, students that are preparing to become K12 educators are introduced to the social, historical, political and economic factors that contribute to disparities in K12 student experiences and outcomes. In addition, students are tasked with more fully understanding social identities and the integral role they have in student-teacher relationships. He was named Teacher of the Week in February 2016 for the Humanizing course to which a student stated, ““I feel like I have gained a new way of thinking and viewing the world and my place in it. Thank you so much for making me think critically and question everything!”. The course is somewhat unique as students complete a service learning experience with a community based organization that serves children in an after school setting. The students are able to apply what they learn from the course to forge relationships with the children that may have different identities and experiences. The Diggs Teaching Enhancement Project draws from his direct experiences of developing a service learning component tied to coursework. The aim of the project is to invite faculty across the institution to consider how service learning can enhance the student learning experiences and be mutually beneficial to the communities outside the university. Interested faculty will be engaged in professional development on how to incorporate service learning. A key component is to rethink the social dynamics of building equitable community partnerships whereby both entities are equally involved in identifying the goals of the partnership.