A Culturally-Relevant Computer Science Education Program to Expand Equity, Access, and Opportunity for Native American High School Students

美洲原住民在STEM和计算机领域的代表性不足，剥夺了这个国家从多样化的STEM劳动力中产生的创新和变革性解决方案的潜力。研究美国原住民和非美国原住民学生之间的教育差异将增加对如何减少不平等并改善美国原住民学生、家庭和社区的教育和经济结果的理解。为了实现这些目标，美国印第安人科学与工程学会和卡普尔中心将研究为美洲原住民高中生设计和实施与文化相关的计算机科学课程，重点是如何最好地支持土著女孩在计算STEM领域的职业发展。该项目将为校内和校外的计算机科学教育提供课程、培训和支持。这些干预措施旨在扩大公平、机会和机会，让学生增加对计算机科学的知识和兴趣，并提供在计算和计算STEM领域接受高等教育和从事职业的途径。项目小组将邀请一系列非常不同的合作伙伴和土著社区成员参与项目活动和交付成果的开发和实施。该项目由学生和教师创新技术体验计划(ITEST)资助，该计划支持建立对实践、计划要素、背景和过程的理解的项目，有助于提高学生对科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)以及信息和通信技术(ICT)职业的知识和兴趣。该项目将吸引1824名美国原住民学生和28名教育工作者参与。研究结果将为该项目的推广提供依据，使其成为以美国原住民学生为主的高中计算机科学的典范。研究和项目协调将由在原住民社区拥有丰富计算教育经验的研究人员进行。这项研究将采用准实验设计。在每门课程开始时收集的基线数据将与干预后的数据进行比较，以检查干预与学生结果之间的关系。定量和定性数据将使用调查、课程数据、成绩单、访谈和焦点小组来收集。方法包括调查和分享圈子，将分别与女孩和男孩进行。共享圈子将寻求确定土著社区中不同性别如何体验项目活动期间引入的文化活动的异同。研究问题包括：(1)与文化相关的、以女性为重点的计算机科学课程对提高美国原住民学生，特别是原住民女性青年在计算方面的入门、持久性和成功(即获得的知识)有什么影响？(2)对于提高美国原住民女性在计算机科学方面的抱负、参与度、自我效能感、韧性以及社交和情感学习，哪些计划组成部分是必不可少的？该项目将通过研究本地学生在计算机教育中存在的结构、心理和社会障碍，以及严格的、与文化相关的交叉计算课程和校外大学和职业准备活动的有效性，为文献做出贡献。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The underrepresentation of Native Americans in STEM and computing deprives the nation of its potential for innovation and transformative solutions that can arise from a diverse STEM workforce. Studying the educational differences between Native American and non-Native American learners will increase the understanding of how to reduce inequity and improve educational and economic outcomes for Native American students, families, and communities. To achieve these objectives, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and the Kapor Center will study the design and implementation of culturally relevant computer science courses for Native American high school students with emphasis on how to best support Native girls’ advancement to careers in computational STEM fields. The project will provide curricula, training, and support for in-school and out-of-school computer science education. These interventions are designed to expand equity, access, and opportunity for students to increase knowledge and interest in computer science, and afford pathways to higher education and careers in computing and computational STEM fields. The project team will engage a highly diverse set of partners and Native community members to participate in development and implementation of the project’s activities and deliverables. This project is funded by the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, which supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers.The project will engage 1,824 Native American students and 28 educators. Findings will inform replication of the program as a model computer science for high schools with predominately Native American students. Research and program coordination will be conducted by researchers with extensive experience in computing education in Native communities. The research will have a quasi-experimental design. Baseline data collected at the beginning of each course will be compared with post-intervention data to examine the relationship between the intervention and student outcomes. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected using surveys, course data, transcripts, interviews, and focus groups. Methods include surveys and sharing circles, which will be conducted with girls and boys separately. The sharing circles will seek to determine similarities and differences in how respective genders in Native communities experience cultural activities introduced during the project’s activities. Research questions include: (1) What is the impact of culturally relevant, female-focused computer science courses on increasing the entry, persistence, and success (i.e., knowledge gained) in computing of Native American students in general and Native female youth, specifically?; and (2) What program components are essential to increase Native American females’ computer science aspirations, engagement, self-efficacy, resilience, and social and emotional learning? The project will contribute to the literature by studying existing structural, psychological, and social barriers for Native students in computing education and the efficacy of rigorous, culturally relevant, and intersectional computing courses and out-of-school college and career readiness activities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.