Asee peer logo

The Role of an Artificial Intelligence Certificate in the Computing Identity Formation of Hispanic-Serving Community College Students who Work

Download Paper |

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 8: Technical Session 8: The Role of an Artificial Intelligence Certificate in the Computing Identity Formation of Hispanic-Serving Community College Students who Work

Tagged Topics

Diversity and CoNECD Paper Sessions

Page Count

41

DOI

10.18260/1-2--45488

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/45488

Download Count

37

Paper Authors

biography

Sarah L Rodriguez Virginia Tech Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-3409-7096

visit author page

Sarah L. Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of Engineering Education and an affiliate faculty member with the Higher Education Program at Virginia Tech. Her engineering education research agenda centers upon engineering and computing identity development of historically marginalized populations at higher education institutions. Currently, Dr. Rodriguez is involved with several large-scale interdisciplinary research projects focused on institutional environments and STEM identity development are sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Kapor Center. In recent years, she was selected as an Early Career Awardee and Faculty Fellow with the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) and a NASPA Emerging Faculty Leader. She also received the Barbara Townsend Early Career Scholar Award by the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) and gave the distinguished ASHE-CAHEP Barbara Townsend Lecture. To learn more about her current projects, visit http://sarahlrodriguez.com/

visit author page

biography

Taylor Y. Johnson Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-9998-721X

visit author page

Taylor Y. Johnson is a graduate student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education, where she serves as a graduate research assistant. Taylor earned her Bachelor's from The University of Texas at Austin in Biomedical Engineering. Her research interests include equity in engineering education, middle-years of engineering, and engineering student support.

visit author page

biography

Paul Charles Bigby Jr. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

visit author page

Paul C. Bigby is a graduate student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education, where he serves as a graduate research assistant. Paul also earned his Bachelor’s from Virginia Tech in Mechanical Engineering, and Master's degrees from both the University of Michigan and Indiana University. His research interests are in broadening participation in engineering with a systemic or institutional focus.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Community colleges (CCs) provide educational opportunities for students from a variety of backgrounds. More specifically, CCs also provide exposure to computing disciplines and provide students with the opportunity to learn more about computing applications, such as artificial intelligence (AI). Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) can positively promote a sense of belonging, racial identity development, and community for students. However, few studies focus on the unique context of Hispanic-serving community colleges (HSCCs) and even fewer center on how students at HSCCs develop computing identity, even though having a strong computing identity has been shown to enhance persistence and completion.

The purpose of this presentation is to provide information on the structure and implementation of an NSF-HSI funded project designed to create an Artificial Intelligence certificate program at an HSCC and share preliminary findings on how courses within the certificate influence students’ computing identity formation. The HSCC offers an AI certificate as a 3-course sequence that consists of courses related to AI thinking, AI ethics, and applied AI for business. The certificate program was designed to broaden participation within computing by providing students with introductory overview and training in computing topics.

As part of the larger project, the research team conducted a qualitative phenomenological research study to understand the computing identity experiences of HSCC students. The team utilized semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of (n=20) students who have taken courses in the AI certificate sequence. Guided by Rodriguez et al. (2020)’s conceptual framework for computing identity development, the interviews explored identity formation elements (interest, competence, performance, and recognition), intersectionality, and community cultural wealth as well as elements of the HSCC context. Preliminary findings suggest that students who entered the certificate program with prior computing experience were able to identify elements of their computing identity easier. Additionally, students had a wide array of personal and/or professional experiences that influenced their decision to pursue computing education. Students utilized their prior experiences and interests in computing and AI as motivating factors, or forms of community cultural wealth, to persist in the certificate program when they encountered challenges with coursework. For this presentation, we will also present literature on community college students who work and how the students in our study were affirmed in their computing identity development by various elements of their current employment positions.

We will conclude with implications for practice such as suggestions for program implementation, creating and maintaining inclusive spaces that support and uplift computing students at HSCCs, and further exploring the assets and skills of students who work.

Rodriguez, S. L., & Johnson, T. Y., & Bigby, P. C. (2024, February), The Role of an Artificial Intelligence Certificate in the Computing Identity Formation of Hispanic-Serving Community College Students who Work Paper presented at 2024 Collaborative Network for Engineering & Computing Diversity (CoNECD), Arlington, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--45488

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2024 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015