Native Americans are one of the least represented populations in the field of computer science. Moreover, Native American participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM fields) at the college level continues to be severely limited, resulting in a fraction of Native Americans earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM and computer science. Education researchers have found that a lack of rigorous preparation in mathematics and computational thinking, beginning as early as elementary and middle school, are major factors in this underrepresentation.
Assistant professor Morgan Vigil-Hayes of NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems was awarded $275,944 by the National Science Foundation for a two-year project entitled “Towards Culturally Responsive and Computationally Rich Problem Based Learning for K-5 Students.” The project’s goal is to develop solutions to this problem, beginning right here in the Flagstaff community.