TechArts & Crafts: Supporting STEM Capital Development for Marginalized Students

Shaundra Bryant Daily; Sandra Roach; Alia Carter; Raeven King; Mark Nabeta

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Conference: 2024 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD)
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Publication Date: February 25, 2024
Start Date: February 25, 2024
End Date: February 27, 2024
Conference Session: Track 7: Technical Session 5: TechArts & Crafts: Supporting STEM Capital Development for Marginalized Students
Tagged Topics: Diversity and CoNECD Paper Sessions
Page Count: 27
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--45484
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/45484
Download Count: 16

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Paper Authors

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Shaundra Bryant Daily Duke University orcid.org/0000-0002-6612-2049

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Shaundra B. Daily is a professor of practice in Electrical and Computer Engineering & Computer Science at Duke University and Levitan Faculty Fellow, Special Assistant to the Vice Provosts. Prior to joining Duke, she was an associate professor with tenure at the University of Florida in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering. She also served as an associate professor and interim co-chair in the School of Computing at Clemson University. Her research focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of technologies, programs, and curricula to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. Currently, through this work, she is the Backbone Director for the Alliance for Identity-Inclusive Computing Education as well as Education and Workforce Director for the Athena AI Institute. Having garnered over $40M in funding from public and private sources to support her collaborative research activities, Daily’s work has been featured in USA Today, Forbes, National Public Radio, and the Chicago Tribune. Daily earned her B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University – Florida State University College of Engineering, and an S.M. and Ph.D. from the MIT Media Lab.

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Sandra Roach Duke University

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Alia Carter Duke University orcid.org/0009-0002-4648-7355

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Alia Carter is a learning designer with over 15 years of STEM teaching experience in formal and informal institutions. She developed the Science Engagement Department at the McWane Science Center increasing visitor engagement by creating experiences that helped visitors feel that science is “for me.” Alia was also a 4th-8th grade math and science at an Alabama Jewish Day School where she facilitated learning that connected STEM to her students’ daily lives. She is passionate about developing learning experiences that emphasize inclusion, diversity, equity, and access.

Alia has a BS in Mathematics and a minor in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She continues to consult with informal science institutions on projects focused on redefining the dominant narrative of STEM.

As a Research Scientist at the Duke LIFT Lab, Alia designs, facilitates, and assesses the impact of culturally-responsive out-of-school learning experiences on STEM engagement, participation, and aspiration of minoritized youth.

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Raeven King

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Mark Nabeta

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Abstract

Embracing individuals with diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds unlocks a broader range of ideas and problem-solving approaches; however, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields continue to grapple with the challenges of attracting and retaining underrepresented groups. The imperative to enhance diversity in STEM extends beyond matters of equity; it is crucial for fostering innovation, addressing societal challenges, and driving economic growth. This panel presentation focuses on a university-industry engagement model designed to recruit and retain marginalized groups in STEM. The model is grounded in the concept of STEM capital, which encompasses the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and experiences that individuals possess in STEM, leading to their future participation in the fields. Further, the model incorporates three fundamental elements: creative applications, representation, and community signaling. First, the workshops explore non-traditional applications of STEM, incorporating art, dance, music, and fashion. Prior research demonstrates that integrating non-traditional STEM activities effectively attracts and retains underrepresented groups by connecting STEM to relatable contexts relevant to participants' daily lives, potentially fostering sense of belonging in STEM (Buechley et al., 2008; Buechley & Eisenberg, 2008; Daily et al., 2014; Leonard et al., 2014).

Second, the model emphasizes the involvement of Black and Latina faculty, staff, and students as role models. This crucial representation addresses the need for diverse role models in STEM, which has been shown to positively influence students' aspirations and persistence (Tenenbaum et al., 2014; Zaniewski & Reinholz, 2016). Finally, the model leverages the partner’s network of relationships formed through their fashion retail and non-profit activities to actively engage community participants, primarily from the target groups. This includes targeted advertising to parents who frequent their stores/events or follow them on social media, as well as partnerships with school districts to recruit groups of student participants. We expect that having this community-oriented, popular brand retailer signaling the importance of tech-based events can enhance community interest, engagement, and adoption.

The workshops take place monthly at a community space affiliated within the retail stores. Collaborating with the retailer’s in-house team, the university team develops engaging curricula, that provide two hours of engaging activities, including highlighting team STEM experiences, structured coding tasks (e.g., fixing broken code or creating missing code), gallery walks to showcase student work, and a closeout. By bridging STEM with activities beyond the traditional realm, the workshops provide participants with positive learning experiences that may spark interest, foster engagement, and create a sense of belonging in STEM (Means & Stephens, 2021). This presentation will further discuss the model, present observations and reflections from staff and students, and provide insights into scaling efforts in four states.

Citation
Format

Daily, S. B., & Roach, S., & Carter, A., & King, R., & Nabeta, M. (2024, February), TechArts & Crafts: Supporting STEM Capital Development for Marginalized Students Paper presented at 2024 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD), Arlington, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--45484

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Embracing individuals with diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds unlocks a broader range of ideas and problem-solving approaches; however, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields continue to grapple with the challenges of attracting and retaining underrepresented groups. The imperative to enhance diversity in STEM extends beyond matters of equity; it is crucial for fostering innovation, addressing societal challenges, and driving economic growth. This panel presentation focuses on a university-industry engagement model designed to recruit and retain marginalized groups in STEM.
The model is grounded in the concept of STEM capital, which encompasses the skills, attitudes, knowledge, and experiences that individuals possess in STEM, leading to their future participation in the fields. Further, the model incorporates three fundamental elements: creative applications, representation, and community signaling. First, the workshops explore non-traditional applications of STEM, incorporating art, dance, music, and fashion. Prior research demonstrates that integrating non-traditional STEM activities effectively attracts and retains underrepresented groups by connecting STEM to relatable contexts relevant to participants&#39; daily lives, potentially fostering sense of belonging in STEM (Buechley et al., 2008; Buechley &amp;amp; Eisenberg, 2008; Daily et al., 2014; Leonard et al., 2014).

Second, the model emphasizes the involvement of Black and Latina faculty, staff, and students as role models. This crucial representation addresses the need for diverse role models in STEM, which has been shown to positively influence students&#39; aspirations and persistence  (Tenenbaum et al., 2014; Zaniewski &amp;amp; Reinholz, 2016). Finally, the model leverages the partner’s network of relationships formed through their fashion retail and non-profit activities to actively engage community participants, primarily from the target groups. This includes targeted advertising to parents who frequent their stores/events or follow them on social media, as well as partnerships with school districts to recruit groups of student participants. We expect that having this community-oriented, popular brand retailer signaling the importance of tech-based events can enhance community interest, engagement, and adoption.

The workshops take place monthly at a community space affiliated within the retail stores. Collaborating with the retailer’s in-house team, the university team develops engaging curricula, that provide two hours of engaging activities, including highlighting team STEM experiences, structured coding tasks (e.g., fixing broken code or creating missing code), gallery walks to showcase student work, and a closeout. By bridging STEM with activities beyond the traditional realm, the workshops provide participants with positive learning experiences that may spark interest, foster engagement, and create a sense of belonging in STEM (Means &amp;amp; Stephens, 2021). This presentation will further discuss the model, present observations and reflections from staff and students, and provide insights into scaling efforts in four states.

AU  - Shaundra Bryant Daily
AU  - Sandra Roach
AU  - Alia Carter
AU  - Raeven King
AU  - Mark Nabeta
CY  - Arlington, Virginia
DA  - 2024/02/25
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - TechArts & Crafts: Supporting STEM Capital Development for Marginalized Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/45484
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--45484
ER  -