E4: From A Cultural Context: Rethinking STEM

In this episode of The Cultural Context of Knowledge, host Donald Easton Brooks challenges one of the most common assumptions in education: that STEM is neutral. If we say “math is objective” and “data speaks for itself,” what gets hidden is the cultural design of many STEM classrooms—speed, linear reasoning, abstraction-first instruction, individual performance, and language-heavy explanations. These norms are not universal; they are traditions that have been normalized as intelligence.

This is not a call to lower standards or add “culture” as an extra layer. It is a redesign challenge: how do we build STEM learning where rigor is not confused with restriction, and where students don’t have to earn belonging before they can learn? You’ll leave with concrete redesign moves—starting with real-world systems before formal notation, widening how students can show reasoning, and rethinking assessments that measure familiarity and speed more than understanding.