**3.5 Rationale**

The mission of Prepare2Nspire is to prepare marginalized students to succeed on grade-level and high-stakes mathematics exams and to inspire them to continue their *Bridging the Digital Divide in Design and Mathematics through an Immersive Maker Program… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111787*

study of mathematics. This mission is accomplished by developing mathematics confidence, content knowledge, connections, communication skills, and community through its cascading tutoring and mentoring model. P2N also works to create a STEM pipeline for urban underrepresented students to post-secondary education and opportunities.

Prepare2Nspire uses the terms *mentutor* and *mentutee* to signal the combination of the mentoring and tutoring roles. Recognizing that mentoring is a function of building relationships and that tutoring entails the process of assisting in problem-solving and working through mathematics content, the program merged the roles of tutor and mentor and the roles of tutee and mentee. Tutoring without mentoring, however, removes the important leverage of building relationships. Mentoring mirrors tutoring, in the beginning, because it passes the expertise of the tutor onto the tutee. Furthermore, mentoring cultivates both study skills and positive behavior, creates resilience and self-reliance, provides context for the exchange of information and knowledge (which, in the case of P2N, bridges the gap between mathematical theory and practice), and cultivates leadership competencies in both mentor and mentees. For mentees, it also increases the capacity for service to others in the future just as their mentors are currently serving them.

#### *3.5.1 Culturally responsive mentoring*

Prepare2Nspire works to incorporate culturally responsive mentoring into the daily lives of students as a way to empower and strengthen the relationship between tutors (mentutor) and tutees (mentutee). Particularly troubling is the myth that culture does not matter in the teaching and learning of mathematics [31], especially when many states continue to have large academic and opportunity gaps between students of color and white students [32]. Paying attention to "issues of race and culture in the way we teach mathematics has incredible power to disrupt the troubling opportunity gap" [31]. Using what students already bring to class acknowledges that such issues exist and addresses them by providing a strategy to mentor African American students from urban schools.

#### *3.5.2 The shaping of mathematical identity*

Small learning communities form the foundation of Prepare2Nspire. These table groups are named for underrepresented STEM scholars like Mae Jemison, an African American astronaut and scientist, and Katherine Johnson, an African American mathematician known for her computation work for NASA. The naming of the communities using underrepresented scholars is intentional. To help students see themselves as people who can excel in science and mathematics, they should see and know previous scholars who have succeeded in STEM fields this way.

While mathematical identity is a social construction [33, 34], participating in mathematics classes has a profound effect on the development of that identity. Racialized narratives [35, 36] are among the factors that influence it. More often than not, schools have perpetuated deficit narratives by placing students from underrepresented populations into remedial courses that make it nearly impossible to participate in advanced study. Students, in turn, begin to identify as being incapable and unable to perform academically, believing the implicit message that they aren't capable of doing and being better. Such messages are internalized, creating these deficit narratives and low self-worth even when students have the skill set or prior experiences to demonstrate they can be successful. These "[deficit] identities intersect with already

existing stories about other kinds of social identities" [35, 37, 38]. P2N pushes back against this notion by transforming student mathematical identity.

Cultivating positive peer relationships [39, 40] through the use of learning communities is an approach to influencing the formation of mathematical identity. Lieberman [41] asserts that learning among low achieving students increases when they are placed in empowering roles. Situated learning suggested by Lave and Wenger [42] is a model that places learning within social relationships. Thus, community participation is imperative when cultivating mathematical identity, and positively affects the mathematical identity of the tutee [43]. The P2N near-peer model is an example of mathematics support situated in a social setting. Positive encouragement from peers is an effective and motivating strategy. As one P2N participant states, "I really like how when we come here we build community, and at the same time we're also learning [math]. And we meet people who are from different backgrounds" (personal interview, December 2017).

#### **3.6 Structure of Prepare2Nspire**

#### *3.6.1 "Prepare": reverse the current trend*

In almost every accountability measure in Minnesota (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments MCA-II and Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments MCA-lll) and nationally (National Assessment of Educational Progress—NAEP), certain groups of students consistently lag behind their White peers [44]. African American, Native American, and Hispanic students, as well as students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, perform behind their peers in academic preparation, high school graduation, and college attendance and completion. In addition, these students are often enrolled in fewer STEM courses in high school and college. The STEM job market is growing, with specialized fields that will not include students from the aforementioned groups if they do not have a background in mathematics and other STEM courses. Studies by NAEP and Jett [45] reveal that the "overwhelming number of low-achieving students in algebra are black and Hispanic and attend big urban, highpoverty schools where they are more likely to fall through the cracks" [46] and that African American and Hispanic students are disproportionately underrepresented in advanced mathematics courses. Jett [45] and others [35] assert that the highest predictor of college readiness and completion is the taking of higher-level mathematics courses during high school. Prepare2Nspire is located in an urban community where mathematics failure is common. If the trend of disproportionate underrepresentation of marginalized students is to be reversed, foundational math failure must be made a high priority in urban educational settings where the numbers are most staggering. Succinctly, prepared students can reverse this trend.

#### *3.6.2 "2": the participants*

Prepare2Nspire was developed to support two cohorts of students: eighth graders and eleventh graders. Students in these cohorts are referred to as mentutees, since they are recipients of both mentoring and tutoring [47]. The design of the program is strategic, with middle school and high school students seeing college undergraduates pursuing higher education especially in mathematics or other STEM fields. These undergraduates, called mentutors, are also active participants in the program as they develop different skill sets like leadership and teaching (**Figures 4** and **5**).

*Bridging the Digital Divide in Design and Mathematics through an Immersive Maker Program… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111787*

**Figure 4.** *Prepare2Nspire.*

**Figure 5.** *Prepare2Nspire at UROC Spring 2017.*

The original design of the program matched one undergraduate with three eleventh graders and six eight-grade participants. As the program has developed and evolved over the last 10 years, outside circumstances may have altered the exact number of students from each cohort within a community, but the nearpeer model has only become stronger, regardless of the changing number of participants. The undergraduate remains the foundation of each community while supporting both eighth and eleventh graders and as eleventh graders support eighth graders.

#### *3.6.3 "Nspire": the role of technology*

Graphing calculators have transformed how students think mathematically in a classroom and on assessments. Prepare2Nspire is influenced by the graphing calculator with the same name. Each participant receives a graphing calculator and is taught how to use it effectively. Since mathematical thinking is influenced by technology, and technology can be used on standardized assessments, participants are taught how to move between the multiple representations which are incorporated into the teaching and learning of mathematics in general, and in algebra specifically. Given that technology is an integral part of STEM occupations, this tool can be an advantage when preparing for this pathway IF students know how to use it.

When students attend each week at their table communities, they work, eat and talk with the same people. All of these activities are an intentional part of building relationships which, in turn, enable authentic conversations about algebra. The sense of community transforms how participants think about mathematics.

#### **3.7 The immersive maker space program**

Building on prior literature and experiences from the supporting programs Building Bridges to Design and Prepare2Nspire, we used an inclusive lens to create and deliver immersive maker space programs for underrepresented students in grades 4–12 in summer 2020, 2021 and 2022. The project-based making exercises focused on the intersection of design and mathematics, drawing on historic design precedents from ethnic minority communities including African, African American, Hmong, and Vietnamese communities, where underrepresented student participants in this program came from. Using design precedents from diverse communities helped our team create a "culturally-responsive approach" that is inclusive and relevant to student participants. We exposed K-12 students to design, engaged them in hands-on experiences, and created opportunities for them to collaborate with underrepresented mentors. We also used design precedents from underrepresented designers to illustrate contributions to the built environment.

Through extensive literature review on maker spaces and underrepresented students, focus group meetings, ideation and mockup sessions with University researchers, and collaboration with community and school partners, we co-designed and created a curriculum for an immersive maker space in a city with a poor record of inclusive excellence. Our goal was to offer hands-on experiences in design, 3D modeling, online experimentation, making, and digital fabrication to promote STEM/ STEAM learning. The immersive maker space was implemented online in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in-person in 2022 with grade 4–12 students at the Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) in

*Bridging the Digital Divide in Design and Mathematics through an Immersive Maker Program… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111787*

North Minneapolis, a school zone with an exceptionally high educational achievement gap. Throughout the program, students' learning was measured through survey responses and informal interviews.

## **3.8 Program curriculum and activities**

The program curriculum included College of Design students from diverse backgrounds sharing their career interests and projects via videos. The design and STEAM videos included introductions to fractals, geometric principles, the golden rectangle, and the Fibonacci sequence. Fractals in design and architecture were presented through a cross-cultural lens, showcasing fractal geometry in the work of underrepresented designers like David Adjaye, including his design of the African

#### **Figure 6.**

*Summer 2020 student sketching, paper folding, and LEGO and building blocks projects.*

#### **Figure 7.** *Summer 2020 3D modeling in TinkerCAD and paper folding projects.*

#### *Pedagogy, Learning, and Creativity*

American Museum in Washington DC. For the introduction to mathematics, graphing calculators, and coding, students engaged in hands-on learning about how to code and automate devices. Hands-on paper folding exercises were integrated so students could learn about various math principles while folding structures and origami forms.

For sketching, 3D modeling, and 3D printing, students were introduced to 3D modeling in TinkerCAD using Cartesian coordinate systems, points, lines, and basic geometric shapes such as cubes, planes, and spheres. They learned rapid prototyping through 3D printing of the TinkerCAD models they created. For example, they created massing models of the African American Museum in DC in TnkerCAD. They learned about the massing and composition of the structure, which are extruded trapezoidal geometric shapes stacked vertically to form the building facade. This exercise provided students with the opportunity to learn about the intersection and relationship between mathematics and design principles.

**Figure 8.** *Summer 2022 3D modeling in TinkerCAD and 3D printing.*

**Figure 9.** *Summer 2022 sketching and LEGO exploration.*

*Bridging the Digital Divide in Design and Mathematics through an Immersive Maker Program… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111787*

For LEGO and building block modeling, students experienced and learned about design and mathematics by building models of global buildings, including the Khufu Pyramid, the Sydney Opera House, the Tower Bridge, the Pisa leaning tower, and skylines in Japan and Dubai Skyline (**Figures 6–9**).

## **4. Discussion and findings**

To support our goal of implementing the maker space program and engaging underrepresented students to promote future success in STEAM, we measured students' learning throughout the program using surveys and informal interviews. Students completed pre-surveys prior to participating in the program and post-surveys after the program. To help the authors learn about the effect of the program on student learning, attitudes, and engagement in the program, sample survey questions were targeted towards asking participants about their experience before and after the camp. For example, participants were asked about the design and mathematics careers they know, the STEAM skills they were learning, and their best experience in the program (**Figure 10**).

The 2020 camp had to be delivered virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. From the 2020 cohort of 64 campers (34 grade K–6 and 30 grade 7–12 students), the majority of the campers—81.5%—considered the camp informative and interesting on a Likert scale of 1–5 points. No camper rated the program as not informative or interesting. When asked what they learned in the virtual summer camp, students reported learning about design. For example, one participant quotes "you can start designing and drawing and someday that dream of yours might come true." Another noted "I learned about the different types of designs people do on a daily basis which made me into design." Another participant noted "I learned about possible career paths in design. I also learned about certain buildings." When asked about the best experience in the virtual summer camp, participants reported enjoying the virtual design firm visits, origami, and LEGO building. One participant reported "The best part was when people that do different types of designs and when they showed us what they do every day on the job and explained how things work at their

**Figure 10.** *Word cloud illustrating best experience in Summer 2021.*

offices." Another reported "Building the Origami helps me think better." Another reported "I really liked how challenging the LEGO building was."

The 2021 camp was also held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the 2021 cohort of 30 campers (18 grade K–6 and 12 grade 7–12 students), the majority of the campers—72.2%—considered the camp informative and interesting on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 points. No camper rated the program as not informative or interesting. When asked what they learned in the virtual summer camp, students reported learning about mathematics and design. For example, one participant noted "I learnt that math and art have a good way in incorporating itself in designing projects." Another noted "Fractals is a concept in math that deals with space and dimensions." On modeling, another participant noted "I learnt that 3D printing is sometimes used to small-scale a building like a model." When asked about the best experience in the virtual summer camp, participants enjoyed the origami, sketching, LEGO building, and modeling exercises. For example, participants reported their best experiences as follows: "seeing the different people and what branches of engineering they worked in," "trying to build the Japanese skyline," "drawing the fractals and building the origami," and "I liked the crafts and the origami, and it was interesting."

The summer 2022 camp was delivered in-person. For this summer experience, the Arts were included in the STEM focus, so the focus was Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). The program followed Minnesota COVID-19 protocols to ensure a safe environment, and all participants wore masks during indoor activities. Since the camp was delivered in-person, more detailed preand post-surveys and informal observations were conducted. From the 58 registered campers, 23 attended the full 2 weeks of the summer camp and participated in the pre-and post-survey (7 grade K–6 and 16 grade 7–12 students). When asked in the post-camp survey how the experience would contribute to their future plans, participants reported wanting to become engineers, architects, entrepreneurs, fashion designers, computer programmers, and animators. Notably, a participant reported that the program taught "me how to create and provide helpful things to the economy." Additionally students reported that the experiences helped them with mental mathematics, technology, and logical skills. These findings, demonstrating stronger STEM/STEAM self-efficacy (**Figures 11** and **12**), support the program directors' intentions to use creative project-based learning exercises to promote future success. **Figures 11** and **12** summarizes the average Likert score of summer camp participants attitudes towards STEAM pre-and post-camp. For example, as illustrated in the diagrams the average Likert score for the following questions increased from the pre to post: *I think I can do well in STEAM (3.82 to 4.45), I think STEAM will help me even when I am not in school (3.73 to 4.00), I am interested in thing I learn in STEAM (3.73 to 4.05) and I enjoy doing STEAM projects (3.70 to 4.35).*

As seen in comparison of **Figures 11** and **12**, most participants reported that the program helped them understand STEAM as much as they can. The average Likert score of the other five questions shows an increase after the camp, indicating an increase in students' interest in the STEAM class. All students thought STEAM is important and enjoyed doing STEAM projects. Through the camp, they mastered many new skills, and believed STEAM would help them even when they are not in school. The summer design camp helped them improve their interest in STEAM. However, it looks like students were not looking forward to their STEAM classes in school. A paired-sample t-test was conducted to the pre-and post-test survey questions to determine if there was significant difference at the end of the camp experience. As

*Bridging the Digital Divide in Design and Mathematics through an Immersive Maker Program… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111787*

#### **Figure 11.**

*Pre-Survey of 2022 Summer Camp participants attitudes towards STEAM.*

#### **Figure 12.**

*Post-Survey of 2022 Summer Camp participants attitudes towards STEAM.*


#### **Table 1.**

*Student Interest in STEAM pre- and post- summer camp. Mean, Standard Deviations for Pre- and Post-test data and t Test results (n = 23).*

shown in **Table 1** there was significant difference in pre-and post for the question *I enjoy doing STEAM projects*. Our limitations are the small sample size in the in-person summer 2022 camp due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A larger sample size will be needed to show any statistically significant difference before and after camp.

In terms of the program directors' goal to close the learning gaps due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hands-on experiences in 3D modeling in TinkerCAD and in coding and 3D printing provided the opportunity to tackle digital inequities and the lack of access to current technologies faced by underrepresented students. Overwhelmingly, student participants mentioned 3D printing, modeling, and coding when asked about their best experience post-camp.

In terms of the goal to use an inclusive lens of STEAM learning, the projectbased curriculum used a "culturally-responsive approach" incorporating design examples from underrepresented and minority designers to teach about fractals, geometry, design, and architecture. The visual and design examples came from patterns, visuals, architecture, and ornamentation from African, African American, Hmong, Vietnamese and global cultural examples, helping student participants see role models and a reflection of themselves in the project materials.

## **5. Conclusion**

Findings from the program across the years indicate a high level of engagement and positive learning experiences among program participants. By learning about design and mathematics, participants gained broader perspectives and discovered new interests and career paths. Additionally, our findings highlight how understanding the connections between different disciplines helps foster creativity and

#### *Bridging the Digital Divide in Design and Mathematics through an Immersive Maker Program… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111787*

innovation. Our findings are consistent with those of authors such as Gauntlett [29], that found LEGO experiences offer students creative thinking opportunities [29], and Marsh et al. [22], that highlighted the importance of exposing underrepresented students to maker spaces [22]. Similar to previous authors, we found that anecdotal evidence from this program showed underrepresented students learned about their cultural roots from the program experiences [23].

As the UMN student body is not diverse, programs like this can provide pathways to future careers and bridge educational disparities. The program instills in participants the motivation to continue exploring these disciplines, and helps them develop relevant knowledge and skills for the future. Universities and educational institutions play a critical role in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in education and future careers. Programs aimed at increasing the representation of underrepresented students, such as those from low-income or minority backgrounds, can reduce educational disparities and provide these students with the skills and resources they need to succeed in their chosen fields. By creating inclusive and supportive environments, universities can help foster a sense of belonging and empowerment for underrepresented students and help them reach their full potential.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread learning losses, particularly among students from underrepresented communities who may have faced additional challenges such as limited access to technology and disrupted home environments. To bridge these learning losses, this program introduced initiatives such as:


It is important to address the learning losses caused by the pandemic and to ensure that all students have access to the resources they need to succeed in their education. By working together, educators, policymakers, and communities can help mitigate the impact of the pandemic and ensure that students have the opportunities they need to reach their full potential.

One of the biggest challenges in carrying out the above initiatives is funding. Scaling up these initiatives to reach more underrepresented students and have a greater impact requires significant financial resources. It is crucial to find innovative and sustainable funding models that can support the scaling up and larger impact of these initiatives. This could include partnerships among government, business, and non-profit organizations, leveraging existing infrastructure and resources, and exploring alternative funding sources such as crowd-funding and social impact bonds. Ultimately, the key to overcoming funding challenges is a combination of creativity, persistence, and collaboration. By bringing together stakeholders from different sectors and working together towards a common goal, it is possible to secure the funding needed to provide access to digital experiences, technologies, and digital fabrication for underrepresented students.
