K-12 Connection

GoSTEM at Georgia Tech provides Latino families with community service and engaging online programming

Georgia Tech and the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras receive $2.9 million NSF grant to design informal learning computer science curriculum and broaden access to STEM education. The "Collaborative Research Broadening Participation of LatinX Students in Computer Science by Integrating Culturally Relevant Computational Music Practices" will directly address the lack of representation of Latinx and Spanish-speaking students in computer science. This NSF-funded project will expand middle and high school students' STEM engagement and opportunities within both the continental United States and Puerto Rico. The creative approach will teach code and music composition by designing, implementing, and assessing a new informal learning curriculum.

Dr. Meltem Alemdar and Mr. Christopher Cappelli of the Georgia Institute of Technology Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing's Research and Evaluation Group are no strangers to collaboration. Their strengths naturally complement each other. Their cutting-edge research in curricular assessment helped develop a seamless workflow to form a model of harmonious teamwork in action.

Under the Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) program, Macon County High School educator, Twinkle Mark, participated in an internship in Industrial Systems at South Georgia Technical College. She gained skills and experiences to inspire her students to pursue post-secondary careers in the STEM fields. Mark also received the third-place 2020 Paul A. Duke GIFT Action Plan Award from Georgia Tech.