Explorations: Engaging Black Community Support to Develop Youth’s Awareness of and Technical Skills for Emerging Computational Careers

A strong workforce in emerging technology areas requires diverse participation, especially of populations historically excluded from STEM careers. To accelerate innovation through expanded experiences and viewpoints, and to support equitable economic advancement in high-paying STEM careers, this Explorations project addresses multiple systemic barriers that contribute to the underrepresentation of Black individuals in technology careers. These barriers include Black youth’s limited self-efficacy and belief in future success, the perception that high technology industries are disconnected from Black communities and cultural values, and a lack of Black professional role models. The project’s partners, including Black-owned industries, non-profit organizations, and workforce development experts, address these barriers by (1) teaching technical skills to Black youth within an inclusive after-school environment, (2) using Black professional role models and mentors to introduce students to emerging technology industries, (3) demonstrating strong Black community support and (4) providing peer support through a cohort experience. The high school students participating in this project will be able to access a wide range of opportunities including certifications and project-based experiences, new connections and networks, and a foundation of technical and entrepreneurial skills allowing them to adapt to changing technology. As a result, Black youth will gain the skills and awareness needed to enter emerging technology careers. Signature features of this project include the use of demographically matched professional role models and regional employers, its commitment to engaging youth in 850 hours of career development and technical training in AI, machine learning, digital twinning, data science, spatial computing, and virtual/augmented reality. Finally, it builds youth’s self-efficacy for career entry via the immersive experience of developing technical products, in a cohort learning model, with support and guidance from community mentors. To determine the success of its experiential learning approach, the project’s evaluation plan will examine changes in youth’s (1) knowledge about, interest in, sense of belonging and connection with careers in emerging technologies and perception of emerging technologies as beneficial to their local community; (2) technical skills and sense of self-efficacy in AI, data science, and spatial computing technologies; and (3) entrepreneurial self-efficacy beliefs and the communication, teamwork, and other soft skills needed to work in an innovative, collaborative, and flexible environment. Finally, through its examination of mentor-youth interactions, and the roles played by varied kinds of mentoring (Technical, Career and Tech Trends, and Emotional and Behavioral), the project informs the field of STEM workforce development pedagogy. This project is funded by the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which seeks to advance new approaches to, and evidence-based understanding of, the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments. This includes providing multiple pathways for broadening access to and engagement in STEM learning experiences. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.