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Background: Those who participate in engineering are often assumed to be smart by others. At the same time, the cultural construction of what counts as “smart” is biased and therefore functions as a barrier to broadening participation in engineering. While considerable work has been done to understand engineering identity, how students understand themselves as smart is rarely made explicit in engineering identity research. Purpose: This paper is a theoretical discussion which highlights the need for engineering identity research to integrate students’ understanding of themselves as smart. By not incorporating students’ understanding of themselves as smart explicitly in work on engineering identity, we allow the bias in what gets recognized as smart to remain implicit and oppressive. Scope: In this paper, we argue that the idea of smart is very salient in engineering contexts and contributes to inequity. Then, we demonstrate how three different framings of identity allow for the explicit integration of how students are understanding themselves as smart. We also present selected examples from our empirical data to illustrate the concrete ways in which students’ understandings of themselves as smart manifest in an engineering context. Conclusions: We provided explicit opportunities for researchers to integrate students’ understandings of themselves as smart across three different framings of identity and how such understanding has shown up in our empirical research. In doing so, we conclude that making “smart” explicit in engineering identity provides a way to understand the exclusionary nature of engineering, and a new lens to apply when considering efforts to broaden participation in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We detail our experience running an annual four-day workshop at the University of Minnesota, called the Mathematics Project at Minnesota (MPM). The workshop is for undergraduates who come from groups underrepresented in mathematics and aims to increase the participation and success of such groups in the mathematics major at the University. In this paper, we explain how MPM is organized, discuss its objectives, and highlight some of the sessions that we feel are emblematic of the program's success. The paper concludes with an analysis of achievements and obstacles in the programs' first three years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE-funded LATTICE program (Launching Academics on the Tenure-Track: an Intentional Community in Engineering) to examine how a diverse group of women worked across social and professional identities to support early-career women in academic engineering. We used ethnography to elucidate the social dynamics and power relations involved in forming a coherent group identity for the LATTICE leadership team, and the boundaries we negotiated in running the LATTICE program. We identify the processes and behaviors through which we made boundaries between members salient yet porous to build a coherent community across various dimensions of difference. We offer three actionable strategies that impact change agents' engagement and the group's coherence across multiple dimensions of difference: (1) intentionally creating a socio-emotional culture in our group, one that spans across group members' personal and professional identities; (2) validating other group members' perspectives, and (3) striving to build consensus using storytelling. These strategies of the LATTICE leadership team provide guidelines for others who work across intersecting dimensions of difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culturally responsive computing (CRC) frames the localized knowledges and practices of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities as assets for working toward racial justice in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). A key part of CRC is the role that local communities play in designing and/or implementing curricula and technologies. Yet, there is a dearth of research on collaborating with local knowledge experts and what they think about CRC. In response, this paper details a two-year long research project on the design and implementation of one CRC program called pH Empowered. pH Empowered uses computing to bridge Black hairstyling, chemistry, and entrepreneurship. Through a mixed-methods study of one pH Empowered professional development workshop, we show how cosmetologists, urban farmers, and librarians had diverse perspectives about how to be culturally responsive with STEM and the racial justice goal of broadening participation in STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Those who participate in engineering are often assumed to be smart by others. At the same time, the cultural construction of what counts as “smart” is biased and therefore functions as a barrier to broadening participation in engineering. While considerable work has been done to understand engineering identity, how students understand themselves as smart is rarely made explicit in engineering identity research. Purpose: This paper is a theoretical discussion which highlights the need for engineering identity research to integrate students’ understanding of themselves as smart. By not incorporating students’ understanding of themselves as smart explicitly in work on engineering identity, we allow the bias in what gets recognized as smart to remain implicit and oppressive. Scope: In this paper, we argue that the idea of smart is very salient in engineering contexts and contributes to inequity. Then, we demonstrate how three different framings of identity allow for the explicit integration of how students are understanding themselves as smart. We also present selected examples from our empirical data to illustrate the concrete ways in which students’ understandings of themselves as smart manifest in an engineering context. Conclusions: We provided explicit opportunities for researchers to integrate students’ understandings of themselves as smart across three different framings of identity and how such understanding has shown up in our empirical research. In doing so, we conclude that making “smart” explicit in engineering identity provides a way to understand the exclusionary nature of engineering, and a new lens to apply when considering efforts to broaden participation in engineering.

An effective way to increase the participation of historically excluded students in engineering education is through informal programming that covers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study is part of a broader investigation conducted by Fletcher aimed at evaluating the programs offered by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) as part of the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) program at different sites. The study collected pre- and post-assessment data from 1235 girls across twelve sites to determine if there were significant differences in interest- and experience-related outcomes at single-gender and coeducation sites. The study found that the two single-gender sites out of the twelve sites had statistically significant differences in participant responses in favor of single-gender sites, with one site showing a significant association with overall enjoyment of the program. The study used social cognitive theory (SCT) and intersectionality to guide the research and found that the site type had a significant association with the results. These findings suggest the need for further exploration of the impact of site type within informal education programs, especially those targeting historically excluded populations in STEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question : For students enrolling in introductory computer science classes at community colleges, how did they experience the class in an emergency remote teaching environment, particularly in contrast to in-person instruction at the start of the semester? Methods : Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 students from diverse backgrounds who were enrolled in introductory computer science at a community college in California during the first semester of online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded theory data analysis was conducted on the interview data. Results : Students' overall educational trajectories were largely unchanged by the shift to emergency remote teaching. However, one crucial factor in many students' learning experiences was the lack of a physical transition to the campus and a corresponding transition into a school or studying mode supported by physically gathering with other students and away from distractions at home. Experiences in the classroom were found less engaging by many, and virtual interactions were sometimes awkward. Students struggled to get individualized help from instructors and campus resources and to interact with peers. Conclusions/Contributions : Instructors and administrators in community colleges need to be aware that the loss of college campus spaces and embodied peer interactions may pose an especially large barrier to success for the population they serve. An important takeaway for instructors is that the modalities and tools employed in emergency remote teaching are experienced quite differently by different students, and that additional supports, such as videotaped classes and flexibility in due dates, can be key for students' success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Though minoritized undergraduate engineering students earn less than 25% of engineering bachelor's degrees, minority‐serving institutions (MSIs) are leading the way in producing a large percentage of those underrepresented engineering bachelor's degree holders. However, much of the published research about the experiences of underrepresented engineering students occurs within the context of predominantly White institutions. Upon deeper inspection into the apparent success of some MSIs, graduation rates of specific minoritized populations (e.g., Black students) remain critically low. This suggests that there is more to be learned about how to better support Black engineering students' success. Purpose: We explored the experiences of Black undergraduate engineering students at a large public doctoral university with very high research activity. Design/Method: We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand the experiences of eight participants. Findings: We inductively developed two themes to describe how Black engineering students experience success at a Hispanic‐serving institution, which include building success networks and implementing rules of engagement. Conclusion: Participants enacted their cultural capital to construct their circles of success through the intentional engagement of others, resources, and themselves to realize success. This work sheds light on how Black students describe what it means to be successful in their engineering environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the distribution of federal research and development funding across the academy early in the researcher's pipeline. We use a unique program, the US National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), to document diversity and disparity in allocation and assess the relative impact of federal funding across four different academic divisions that include engineering, life sciences, math and physical sciences, and social sciences and psychology. After controlling for disciplinary differences in research practices, we find that the impact of federal funding yields similar rates and impact of research. However, we document disparity in how federal funding is allocated across the country to institutions and individuals. Together, these findings prompt a discussion around the trade-offs of funders focusing on national priorities or broadening participation. We conclude with recommendations for the GRFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed methods case study presents the experience of a group of middle school students in a year-long, after-school computing programme in a large, inner-city school district in the southeastern United States. The purpose of this research is to explore informal educational strategies that are conducive at giving underrepresented minority youth access to information and communication technology tools and content. Results indicate that hands-on support from mentors, peer collaboration, and options for customising work and creating unique projects contributed positively to the student experience in the programme. This study suggests giving students more creative freedom, adequate scaffolding and the option for peer collaboration when working in informal learning environments. Results are specific to the context of the one school in which this pilot study was conducted, though the findings confirm the research of others in this area. Data sources included a perceptions survey, participant interviews and researcher observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As teachers work to broaden the participation of racially and ethnically underrepresented groups in computer science (CS), culturally responsive computing (CRC) becomes more pertinent to formal settings. Objective: Yet, equity-oriented literature offers limited guidance for developing deep forms of CRC in the classroom. In response, we support the claim that "it takes a village" to develop equity-oriented CS education but additively highlight the roles of cultural experts in the process. Methods: We use a case study methodology to explore one instance of this: a collaboration between a multi-racial team of researchers, a Black cosmetologist, and a White technology teacher. Findings: Three themes supported the CRC collaboration: multi-directional relationship building, iterative engagement with culture-computing, and collaborative implementation of a hybrid lesson. Implications: As opposed to orienting broadening participation around extractive metaphors like "pipelines," our case study constructs the metaphor of an "open village" to orient CS education toward collaborations between schools and the communities they serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship in computer science (CS) education shifts from a focus on the technical-cognitive skills of computational thinking to the socio-cultural goal of computational participation, often illustrated as remixing popular media (e.g. music, photos, etc.) in online communities. These activities do enhance the participatory dimensions of CS, but whether they also support broadening the participation of underrepresented youth remains unclear. While online communities that are dedicated to computational participation have existed in the U.S. for over a decade, many communities of color remain underrepresented in CS disciplines. How might CS educators, researchers, and technologists promote culturally responsive forms of computational participation? To answer this question, we propose a culturally responsive framework for computational participation called generative computing. Generative computing approaches CS as a means for strengthening relationships between learning environments and local communities, leveraging culturally relevant sources of wealth generation in technology design and implementation. To explore this concept, we conducted a mixed-methods study with a cosmetology high school program that predominantly serves young African-American women. Through a series of computationally and culturally rich cosmetology projects, we tested our hypothesis that generative computing can enhance connections between Black heritage, CS, and cosmetology while supporting students' academic interests and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three decades, the Harvard Forest Summer Research Program in Ecology (HF‐SRPE) has been at the forefront of expanding the ecological tent for minoritized or otherwise marginalized students. By broadening the definition of ecology to include fields such as data science, software engineering, and remote sensing, we attract a broader range of students, including those who may not prioritize field experiences or who may feel unsafe working in rural or urban field sites. We also work towards a more resilient society in which minoritized or marginalized students can work safely, in part by building teams of students and mentors. Teams collaborate on projects that require a diversity of approaches and create opportunities for students and mentors alike to support one another and share leadership. Finally, HF‐SRPE promotes an expanded view of what it means to become an ecologist. We value and support diverse career paths for ecologists to work in all parts of society, to diversify the face of ecology, and to bring different perspectives together to ensure innovations in environmental problem solving for our planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]