The COVID-19 pandemic forced a paradigm shift in how educators incorporate STEM educational activities into remote online informal experiential learning environments for high school students. While some primary and secondary institutions were “technically equipped” to seamlessly transition to an online lecture format using video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and WebEx, others were not. Instead, many instructors were not armed with the pedagogical educational infrastructure, training, and assessment tools to elucidate how concepts were presented, absorbed, and retained by students. Experiential learning programs for high school students have been uniquely impacted by this mercurial set of circumstances, where eager students and parents seek venues for engaging in meaningful learning experiences. This work-in-progress explores and compares the experiential programmatic changes in a STEM program for high school students pre- and post-COVID, with the aim of beginning the conversation and exploration of how to deliver “hands-on learning” in a contactless and remote learning environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a paradigm shift in how educators incorporate STEM educational activities into remote online informal experiential learning environments for high school students. While some primary and secondary institutions were “technically equipped” to seamlessly transition to an online lecture format using video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and WebEx, others were not. Instead, many instructors were not armed with the pedagogical educational infrastructure, training, and assessment tools to elucidate how concepts were presented, absorbed, and retained by students. Experiential learning programs for high school students have been uniquely impacted by this mercurial set of circumstances, where eager students and parents seek venues for engaging in meaningful learning experiences. This work-in-progress explores and compares the experiential programmatic changes in a STEM program for high school students pre- and post-COVID, with the aim of beginning the conversation and exploration of how to deliver “hands-on learning” in a contactless and remote learning environment.

Today students largely turn to social media to express opinions about various topics impacting our society (e.g. world events, government, politics, culture, etc.). The expanse of user-generated information available online can be a powerful influence both on the individual and large collectives of people. In recent years disinformation and misinformation on social media have been used to spread hate and divisiveness and, in extreme cases, incite violence. Now, more than ever, it is important to empower minority youth to be good cybercitizens by converting them from passive consumers of unreliable information to knowledgeable contributors of credible data. In this paper, we demonstrate the value of using social injustice as a means of engaging minority youth in computing and data sciences. We have identified effective methods of teaching high school students applied data analysis techniques that provide insight into issues directly affecting them, their families, and their communities. We believe this approach can be used to not only strengthen the pipeline to continued education and careers in computing fields, but also provide an alternative medium for action in a contentious world.

The intersection between Science, Technology and the Arts is providing an insightful and rich playground for engaging historically underrepresented and underserved youth. This paper discusses an innovative and effective approach for learning Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) with an emphasis on using expressive arts as a culturally-centered engagement tool. Our framework incorporates a multimodal model that considers unconventional learning styles that appeal to underrepresented and underserved students, the power of cultural cues and the presence of minority STEM professionals to shape students learning experiences. In addition to demonstrating the importance of culturally-centered learning approaches, we've identified methods of engaging students' families and communities as a means of strengthening the pipeline to continued education in STEM.