An official website of the United States government
The AMPLIFY project, funded through the NSF HSI Program, seeks to amplify the educational change leadership of Engineering Instructional Faculty (EIF) working at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). HSIs are public or private institutions of higher education enrolling over 25% full-time undergraduate Hispanic or Latinx-identifying students [1]. Many HSIs are exemplars of developing culturally responsive learning environments and supporting the persistence and access of Latinx engineering students, as well as students who identify as members of other marginalized populations [2]. Our interest in the EIF population at HSIs arises from the growing body of literature indicating that these faculty play a central role in educational change through targeted initiatives, such as student-centered support programs and the use of inclusive curricula that connect to their students’ cultural identities [3]–[7]. Our research focuses on exploring methods for amplifying the engineering educational change efforts at HSIs by 1) making visible the experiences of engineering instructional faculty at HSIs and 2) designing, implementing, and evaluating a leadership development model for engineering instructional faculty, thereby 3) equipping and supporting these faculty as they lead educational change efforts. To achieve these goals, our project team, comprising educational researchers, engineering instructional faculty, instructional designers, and graduate students from three HSIs (two majority-minority and one emerging HSI), seeks to address the following research questions: 1) What factors impact the self-efficacy and agency of EIF at HSIs to engage in educational change initiatives that encourage culturally responsive, evidence-based teaching within their classrooms, institutions, or beyond? 2) What are the necessary competencies for EIF to be leaders of this sort of educational change? 3) What individual, institutional, and professional development program features support the educational change leadership development of EIF at HSIs? 4) How does engagement in leadership development programming impact EIF educational leadership self-efficacy and agency toward developing and using culturally responsive and evidence-based approaches at HSIs? This multi-year project uses various qualitative, quantitative, and participatory research methods embedded in a series of action research cycles to provide a richer understanding of the successes and needs of EIF at HSIs [8]. The subsequent design and implementation of the AMPLIFY Institute will make visible the features and content of instructional faculty development programs that promote educational innovation at HSIs and foster a deeper understanding of the framework's impact on faculty innovation and leadership.
more »
« less
Being a Good Student: Risks and Reactive Coping Strategies Encountered in a Summer STEM Makerspace for Black Youth
There has been a large push in education over the last decade to drive STEM learning interest during the formative years of adolescence through the usage of engaging computer science related initiatives such as computational makerspaces that allow students to design and build a wide array of personally connected artifacts. But for these initiatives to work, students must be interested in the journey, and the curricula that drive many of these programs are not often designed to be culturally relevant to many of the students they are aimed at motivating. This paper investigated how computational making curricula can be designed in a reflexive and culturally supportive manner by following the trajectory and tensions faced by a black middle school student as he makes his way through the first iteration of such a space.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2048833
- PAR ID:
- 10445493
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International Conference of the Learning Sciences
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Indigenous communities remain among the most underrepresented groups in computing and STEM fields, facing systemic barriers to equitable participation in computer science (CS) education. This study examines how Indigenous-serving teachers, through a sustained professional development (PD) program, design and implement culturally responsive computing (CRC) curricula in Indigenous-serving schools. Guided by the research question: How does sustained CS professional development inform the design of culturally responsive computing curricula by experienced CS teachers in Indigenous-serving schools? We employed a natural language processing (NLP) data fusion approach that integrates text mining and qualitative thematic analysis to investigate how teachers incorporate Indigenous knowledge into computing instruction. Our findings reveal three emergent themes in teacher learning and lesson design: Creating opportunities to access culture through computation, Leveraging Research and Critical Thinking Skills to Critically Engage Students with Computing, and Reflection, refinement, and professional growth through ongoing collaboration. These themes underscore the impact of CRC on bridging cultural traditions with computing, fostering engagement, and enhancing Indigenous students’ sense of belonging in CS. By supporting teachers in developing culturally relevant lessons that integrate storytelling, traditional arts, and computational thinking, this research contributes to the broader discourse on inclusive CS education. This study informs future efforts to expand Indigenous student participation in computing by highlighting the role of culturally sustaining pedagogy in professional development and curriculum design.more » « less
-
While several introductory computer science curricula exist for children in K-8, there are few options that go beyond sequence, loops, and basic conditionals. The goal of this project is to not only fill this gap with a high-quality curriculum supported by complete instructional materials, but to also do so with an equity-balanced curriculum. That is, a curriculum that values advancing equity equally with student learning outcomes. In this paper, we intro- duce barriers to equity in public school classrooms, pedagogical approaches to culturally-relevant curricula, and how our Scratch Encore curriculum is designed to support equity-balanced learn- ing. Finally, we present results of our pilot year, including early evidence of students taking advantage of the culturally-relevant design aspects.more » « less
-
A Critical Computing Curriculum Design Case: Exploring Tribal Sovereignty for Middle School StudentsHoward, N; Howard, K (Ed.)We report on our efforts to design an integrated computing curriculum for middle school students in Montana that is in line with the Kapor Center’s focus on culturally sustaining-revitalizing pedagogies. Montana provides a unique context for doing this work because a state constitutional mandate requires all K-12 students to learn about tribal histories and cultures through Indian Education For All (IEFA). IEFA centers around seven essential understandings about Indigenous peoples in Montana that are integrated across content areas. In addition, implementation of Montana’s CS standards began in the 2021–2022 school year. In the curricular design, we sought to bring together IEFA and CS standards with grades 6–8 social studies standards though a focus on food sovereignty, the right of a group of people “to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems” (https://nyeleni.org/IMG/pdf/DeclNyeleni-en.pdf). We are guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the design strategies and tactics necessary to make IEFA and CS content accessible to middle school students and their teachers? And (2) What are some of the challenges and limitations of designing culturally responsive-sustaining computer science curricula? To address these research questions, we provide an overview of the food sovereignty units we developed. We then share the strategies and tactics we employed to design the units. Finally, we critically reflect on the process of designing such a unit and our own limitations as designers.more » « less
-
The financial disadvantage of many students in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (ECST) at California State University, Los Angeles, is often in parallel with inadequate academic preparation through K-12 education and limited family guidance. Hence, many students, including those who are academically-talented, experience significant challenges in achieving their academic goals. In 2018, the College of ECST received an award from NSF SSTEM program to establish a Culturally Adaptive Pathway to Success (CAPS) program that aims to build an inclusive pathway to accelerate the graduation for academically talented, lowincome students in Engineering and Computer Science majors. CAPS focuses on progressively developing students’ social and career competence via three integrated interventions: (1) Mentor+, relationally informed advising that encourages students to see their academic work in relation to their families and communities; (2) peer cohorts, providing social support structure for students and enhancing their sense of belongings in engineering and computer science classrooms and beyond; and (3) professional development with difference-education, illuminating the hidden curricula that may disadvantage first-generation and low income students. This paper presents our progress and core program activities during the first year of the CAPS program, including the recruitment process and mentor training program. In Fall 18, group and individual mentoring sessions have taken place following the culturally responsive mentoring strategy. In addition to program activities, the paper will also share the data collected through focus groups and report the lessons learned during the first-year implementation phase.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- The DOI is not currently available.
