Arizona State University: ASU Center Celebrates 5 Years Of Successful STEM Programming Initiatives

Press release from Arizona State University:

October 1, 2021

The Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology is celebrating five successful years of programming initiatives at Arizona State University. Over the course of the last five years, the center has worked with a wide range of students, parents, schools and industry partners not only in Arizona but throughout the United States and internationally.

The center is a one-of-a-kind research center that was founded in 2016 by Kimberly Scott, a professor in women and gender studies at ASU and the creator of the CompuGirls programming that has been implemented since 2007. The CompuGirls culturally responsive technology curriculum is the foundation of the center’s programming. With innovative programs such as CompuPower, Cyber Warriors and Girls in Tech, the center has proven time and time again that its impact is far-reaching and its programs are doing their part to fill the STEM pipeline with historically underrepresented students.

During a presentation in 2016, a research assistant demonstrates how the social programmable robot works and how it is used while teaching girls to code in the CompuGirls programming. Photo courtesy of the Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology
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Furthermore, what the center does “is more than inspire girls to pursue STEM, but really helping them to feel empowered to know themselves better, know their cultural identity better and really incorporate their personal and career identity together,” said Chun Tao, a current postdoctoral scholar at Stanford and former graduate student researcher at the center.

When interviewing past staff and partners at ASU for a testimonial series to celebrate the fifth anniversary, it was clear that the mission and goals of the organization were what drew each individual to working with the center and that those passions are what have fueled the center. Over the last five years, the center has stayed true to its mission "to actively drive the discourse and experiences of underrepresented girls in STEM by owning, generating and critiquing the collective body of scholarship on, and offering culturally responsive programs for, girls of color and STEM education."

Patricia Garcia, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, was the first postdoctoral scholar hired into the center after completing her PhD at UCLA. When asked about her attraction to the center, she said “it was the first time that I actually saw an approach that was asset-based and was really thinking about what students of color, what skills and knowledge they already possess and how we can actually leverage those to open up pathways in STEM.” 

Gabriel Escontrías, the former manager at the Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology, said that “if you join the center, I think you’re joining it for its mission.” 

"It is exciting the growth I continue seeing,” he said.

Escontrías left the center to run for the Arizona state Senate and has continued to collaborate with the center over the years, including leading a workshop on Latina representation in STEM at the upcoming anniversary retreat for staff, students and associate faculty.

Elizabeth Wentz, the current dean of the Graduate College; Ji Mi Choi, vice president at Knowledge Enterprise; and Patrick McDermott, chief engagement officer at Thunderbird School of Global Management, have all been a part of the center in some capacity in the last five years.

“I have incredible admiration for Kim, personally and professionally, for everything she’s achieved and for the incredible impact she has had on so many young people as they’ve come through here at ASU and the CompuGirls sites,” McDermott said.

CompuGirls founder Kimberly A. Scott will be named a STEM Access Champion of Change at the White House during an event Feb. 26 to honor people who are working to support and accelerate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) opportunities for African-American students, schools and communities.

Scott, a women and gender studies associate professor in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, founded and leads CompuGirls. The program combines advanced computational skills learning with key areas of social justice to develop skills and interest among adolescent girls in technology and computer science.

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Girls use technology as a tool through the program to address complex issues such as child abuse, indigenous language and culture loss, and gentrification. Starting as eighth-graders, girls who participate are from underserved school districts and are predominantly Hispanic, African-American and Native American.

“Being named a STEM Access Champion of Change is not only a distinct honor, but also an acknowledgement of the need to teach girls technological skills in an engaging and transformative way,” Scott said. “Bringing girls from underserved communities into the digital world ultimately will add intellectual diversity and talent to our country’s workforce.”

The Champions of Change program began in 2011 when President Barack Obama called for recognition of citizens doing extraordinary things at a local level. Champion of Change honorees are chosen through a rigorous nomination and selection process.

Scott saw the need for a program to teach girls advanced technological skills in 2007 when she started CompuGirls. At that time, just 10 percent of middle school girls rated the computer science profession as a “very good” choice for them, according to the National Science Foundation.

A new analysis of test-taking data, recently reported in Education Week, found that no female, African-American or Hispanic students took the Advanced Placement exam in computer science in Mississippi and Montana. Overall, of the 30,000 students who took the exam last year, less than 20 percent of those students were female.

A 2012 study by the National Center for Women and Information Technology reported that African-American and Hispanic women represent only 3 percent and 1 percent of the United States computing workforce. Native American women majoring in computer and information sciences represent less than 1 percent.

Part of the issue is that girls see programming or other technology careers as culturally irrelevant, not as a tool to reach their goals, Scott said. When they are engaged in social justice issues that are important to them, girls learn the technology as a means to build their projects.

By providing fun programs where participants learn the latest technologies in digital media, game development and virtual worlds, girls learn skills such as digital media production with photo editing software, documentary filmmaking, game design and simulations with Scratch, and virtual world creation with open-sim technology.

Self-esteem is boosted through the program, as Mitzi Vilchis discovered when she overcame a fear of making public presentations through the program.

“The culture in CompuGirls is really positive,” Vilchis said. “It was definitely challenging, but we all felt really empowered about our topics.”

CompuGirls allowed her to address domestic violence and taught her technological skills that gave her confidence to help others when they have a problem with computers – something she never would have done before. Currently a freshman at ASU, Vilchis is working toward a degree in secondary education and English.

Scott originally developed CompuGirls with support from the Arizona Community Foundation. Recently, the National Science Foundation awarded multiple large grants to bring the program to girls in school districts in the Phoenix-metro area, including at the Gila River Boys & Girls Club in Sacaton and Komatke, Ariz., part of the Gila River Indian Community. The program has since expanded to Colorado.

Scott is also co-leader of STEM For All, with Kevin Clark of George Mason University, that brings together a diverse group of researchers, practitioners, funding organizations and policy analysts to work on developing a forum where an interdisciplinary team shares knowledge and devises agendas and action items that lead to broadening understanding and pragmatic solutions for traditionally underserved students to enter and persist in STEM fields.

The School of Social Transformation is an academic unit in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

This press release was produced by Arizona State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.