Strengthening computer science pathways for Native American communities

The challenge

Researchers and technology practitioners have identified a need to strengthen Native American perspectives in the development of computer science education pathways. In 2023, the Four Corners Computer Science Convening conference at Fort Lewis College in Colorado brought together educators and administrators to discuss computer science education and pedagogy in the Four Corners states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The goal of the conference was to build a community of Native American computer science teachers and those teaching Native American students while connecting computer science to culture and language. Training sessions and workshops at the conference were led by Native American educators who shared their expertise across topics such as integrating culturally responsive, sustaining pedagogies in computer science education and teaching artificial intelligence.

The approach

Weaving our CS (computer science) Vision —  led by principal investigator Janice Mak, a clinical assistant professor with Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College  —  extends the goal of the earlier Four Corners CS Convening conference into solutions-based approaches. Researchers and education leaders representing Arizona State University, University of Arizona Data Sciences Academy and Computer Science Alliance, will create a culturally responsive and sustaining version of a computer science vision-setting toolkit that centers Native American cultural knowledge and values. The toolkit will be developed for use in Native American schools and communities.

Funding for the project comes from Google. The toolkit will based on the approaches of CSforALL’s SCRIPT, which is a framework to guide teams of district administrators, school leaders and educators through a series of collaborative visioning, self-assessment and goal-setting exercises to create or expand upon a computer science education implementation plan for their students. With the input and collaboration of Native American educational communities, the project team will adapt these approaches specifically for these schools and communities. The toolkit project encompasses the development of a facilitator guide and a revised set of tools, guiding questions and vision statements. The project takes a participatory and co-development approach whereby the team will advise with state leaders in Arizona and New Mexico Departments of Education from their respective Offices of Indian Education.  

The toolkit would be disseminated through national and regional partners, including the University of Arizona Data Sciences Academy, Computer Science Alliance, Computer Science Teachers Association, and the Arizona and New Mexico Departments of Education. 

The project aligns with other efforts by project members in Arizona and New Mexico to launch computer science initiatives with Native American communities. For example, in Arizona, the same project team members have been guiding a $500,000 Natives Who Code initiative, primarily with two southern Arizona tribes. In New Mexico, the Computer Science Alliance has also  been working with educators and leaders from Farmington, Gallup, Central Consolidated, Bernalillo, Española and Cuba school districts which have significant Native American student populations.

The Weaving our CS (computer science) Vision project will yield resources that benefit Native American communities in New Mexico and Arizona, including the Navajo Nation, Eight Pueblo and Apache communities, and the project is being designed to potentially scale nationally.