Access, Power, and the Framework of a CS Education Ecosystem

In the 21st century, the ability to shape, drive and innovate in computing spaces is unequivocally associated with power. However, students of color disproportionately experience the afflictions of poverty and powerlessness. Moving them from being consumers to producers of technology is one approach for changing that narrative. In the context of Computer Science (CS) education, there is much more at stake for students of color than simply joining the technical workforce. The shift to being producers of technology has disproportionate significance to students of color who would be able to perceive themselves as being in positions of technical power. This shift must begin in the current reality of the CS education ecosystem. Applying best practices for increasing diversity in engineering, we argue for a reformation of the CS education ecosystem that redistributes access and power to empower future generations of students of color, thereby broadening participation in CS.

Connections at the Family Level

We discuss the multiple roles played by parents and other caring adults in the homes of young STEM learners, highlighting existing knowledge and connections as well as desired supports. We report on a series of workshops for parents and other caring adults, held in conjunction with a 20-week computational making program for middle school girls from underrepresented communities. The workshops accomplish three tasks: 1. build a community of participants who engage in collaborative work and share best practices, resources, and knowledge; 2. introduce a framework of roles to ground what participants do to support the girls' STEM learning; and 3. engage participants in technical design processes as they work through projects similar to those completed by the middle school girls in the program. We share insights and challenges that emerged from our analysis of these workshops, and present ideas for refinement and adaptation of our workshop model based upon lessons learned.

Minecraft Server Project

Opportunities to participate in computing-related informal programs are limited in terms of quantity and geographic distribution. This limitation is due, in part, to the dearth of adults who have the expertise to mentor youth on computational concepts. This chapter introduces the Digital Youth Network Minecraft Server Project, which aims to reduce the barriers to for non-expert adults to be able to provide informal, computing-related learning opportunities to diverse youth. Using Minecraft, an online multiplayer game, the authors investigate a blended approach to mentorship that diversifies who can lead informal computing opportunities. This study examines learner-mentor interactions in a Synchronous Blended Learning Environment (SBLE) focused on engaging African American and Latina middle school girls in computer science. The chapter concludes with design recommendations for SBLEs to better support the needs of mentors facilitating computing opportunities for African American and Latina middle-school girls.

Culturally Situated Design Tools

The “pipeline” model of STEM education conceives of underrepresentation by race, gender and class in terms of leaks that fail to deliver students to their destination in the science and technology workforce. But that model fails to consider the role of STEM in producing underrepresentation. This can only be solved by moving from the extractive approach of the pipeline model to a generative model in which the value produced by STEM students cycles back to their own communities. We report on our experience creating and evaluating Culturally Situated Design Tools. Using a framework of “generative justice”, we contrast the cyclic social damage, which reproduces underrepresentation with the potential for STEM education as a niche in the technosocial ecosystem that can address underrepresentation and causal factors.

Leveraging Food as the Context for Developing Computational Algorithmic Thinking in an Entry-Level College Course

Over the course of three years, we have developed the It's All In The Mix module as part of an introductory Computer Science (CS) course that is a required course for all STEM majors. It's All In The Mix currently consists of a set of integrated food-focused activities that expose students to computational algorithmic thinking (CAT) – the ability to design, implement, adapt and assess algorithms. In the context of using recipes to prepare food, It's All In The Mix provides an anchoring experience for African American undergraduate STEM majors, bridging the gap between students' enactment of algorithms in everyday settings and algorithms in an introductory CS course. As a result of the integration of the It's All In The Mix, we achieve 100% retention of students in the introductory CS course. This chapter examines how this food module has influenced students' development of CAT and their perception of CS.

Exploring African American Middle-School Girls' Perceptions of Themselves as Game Designers

Computational algorithmic thinking (CAT) is the ability to design, implement, and assess the implementation of algorithms to solve a range of problems. Supporting Computational Algorithmic Thinking (SCAT) is a longitudinal project that explores the development of CAT capabilities by guiding African American middle-school girls through the iterative game design cycle, resulting in a set of complex games around broad themes. This paper explores African American middle-school girls' (called SCAT Scholars) perspectives of their SCAT experience and perceptions of themselves as game designers.

An Interface Design Approach to Encouraging Online Contributions among Underrepresented Youth

Research has revealed how actively contributing to online communities can build technological competencies related to 21st century learning and build identities as creators. However, recent studies have also shown that inequities exist in terms of who is participating. Addressing this problem, this chapter foregrounds user interface design as an important mediator that shapes how certain populations of youth can take advantage of learning opportunities. Focusing on the use of an online social learning network in an urban middle school of predominantly Latino students, the authors present the iterative design of a feature intended to encourage student contributions. The authors argue that there is a need to attend to the user interface design of online social learning systems as a way to create opportunities and to encourage youth from underrepresented groups to participate fully.

Digital Youth Divas

Women use technology to mediate numerous aspects of their lives, yet women of color are grossly underrepresented in the fields of computer science and engineering. Decisions about participation in STEM are frequently made prior to high school, and these decisions are impacted by prior experience, confidence, and sense of fit with community. The Digital Youth Divas (DYD) is an out-of-school program that uses narrative stories to launch the creation of digital artifacts and support non-dominant middle school girls' STEM interests and identities through virtual and real-world community. This chapter describes the framework of the Digital Youth Divas program, which blends narratives with project-based design challenges in an informal learning environment. Results suggest that our narrative-centered, blended learning program increases non-dominant girls' knowledge, confidence, and sense of fit in STEM activities.

Historical App Developers

Unlike enrollment in undergraduate computer science degree programs, there are no gender or ethnic imbalances in K?12 enrollment. This chapter discusses an approach to broadening minority participation in computing through the integration of computer science (CS) into history courses. It presents an alignment between computational thinking and historical thinking that makes history courses an attractive fit for CS integration. It also presents a project-based approach using MIT App Inventor that leverages students' interests in mobile technology to facilitate the creation of historical mobile applications. This chapter outlines key findings from a two-year study on integrating cross-disciplinary curricula into history courses and the impact on minority students as they become knowledge, artifact, and technology producers rather than mere consumers.

Enhancing Participation in Computer Science among Girls of Color

To address disparities in computing among girls of color, this chapter examines the impact of a multi-year, out-of-school computer science intervention with n=108 female high school students of color. This rigorous and comprehensive 5-week computer science intervention designed within a culturally-relevant framework, demonstrated the following outcomes: 1) one exposure to the intervention demonstrated a significant impact on computer science knowledge, attitudes, and access to diverse peers/role models, 2) the impact of the intervention endured after a 9-month period, and 3) repeated-exposure to the intervention (2 sequential 5-week interventions) produced greater growth than just one summer. These findings suggest that short-term interventions can be impactful, and repeated exposure opportunities are needed to increase growth in knowledge, attitudes, and aspirations among girls of color in computing. This research provides preliminary data for a model for effective programming for girls of color in computer science and has implications for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers.