Collaborative Research: CHIPS-UHWO & Kauai CC Partnership in Advancing Computational Thinking (PACT)

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings and research capacity at TCUP institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in novel areas, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for the role of science and mathematics in workforce preparation and addressing local interests. This project aligns directly with that goal, allowing the institutions to design and develop a comprehensive plan for improving and expanding STEM instruction, and moreover may serve as a model and impetus for similar institutions of higher education to develop collaborative degree programs. It further supports the participating colleges’ missions to provide STEM instruction specific to the communities they serve. Through this project - PACT: Partnership in Advancing Computational Thinking - both University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu (UHWO) and Kaua‘i Community College (KCC) will study best approaches to building capacity for teaching and research, particularly in response to emerging technological advances like generative Artificial Intelligence, while broadening the institutions’ offerings of computer science and computational thinking programs. The project aims to achieve three goals to 1) increase the number of graduates from UHWO and KCC prepared for either computational/data science jobs or for the next academic level; 2) increase the number pathways in computational thinking from KCC (a two-year college) to UHWO (a baccalaureate institution); and 3) strengthen the pathways from KCC (including Early College [EC]) to UHWO and to post-baccalaureate careers (job or graduate school). These goals will be achieved by conducting four research activities that will build faculty capacity, build student capacity and success, facilitate collaborations between UHWO and KCC, and increase KCC’s capacity. 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.