ABOUT

The FLIP-STEM hub will leverage cutting-edge research and innovative educational practices to center the experiences and expertise of students to develop new educational tools that can transform the educational experience for learners in North Carolina. The project promotes inclusiveness by centering diverse perspectives and voices as a function of its design, which extends to issues of social justice and equity. The main question being addressed by the FLIP-STEM Hub is,

“How can innovative technologies support diverse middle school students’ full identities to be welcomed, honored, and developed to impact learning and participation in fundamentally new ways?”

The project aims to answer this question by centering secondary students’ knowledge and experiences in technology design and development. By designing with (as opposed to for) students, the hub will document a wide landscape of students’ experiences from which innovative technologies that are grounded in generative artificial intelligence, augmented reality, place-based learning, and/or game-based learning can use students’ knowledge and experiences as inputs for STEM learning and discourse opportunities.

More specifically, by incorporating data science as a focus, this initiative will enable a deeper exploration of how students’ own experiences, interests, and knowledge can be transformed into meaningful datasets for exploration and investigation. This approach will not only empower students to see their experiences as valuable data sources but also teach them critical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Thus, this initiative will provide students with a hands-on, practical understanding of data science, and prepare them for future challenges in a data-centric world.

OUR GOALS

Goal: To center students’ knowledge and experiences in technology design and development through data science.

Outcome: Student and community centered directions for technology development and innovation that can promote new ways of learning, participation, and/or identity building in STEM that can be supported by federal funding.

YEAR ONE ACTIVITIES

• Design Justice Workshop
• Draft our hub’s guiding framework
• Adopt Liberatory Design Practices to see, engage, and act with our student & teacher partners (National Equity Project, 2021)
  • Focus groups with workshop attendees
  • Partner visits
• Understand the landscape: Design Justice + Data Science for user-centered technology design

OUR PARTNERS

The identified assets and partners commited to the work of this hub address underlying, related needs at the intersection of special education, technology development, and equity, diversity, access, and inclusion. Communities have many strengths, including
traditional, indigenous, and local knowledge and practices. Unfortunately, these strengths are not usually considered in technology development.

The Design Justice Network will contribute expertise in design justice and help facilitate learning for our Hub community.