Developing and Assessing an Outreach Module to Engage Rural Students in Computer Science

With the goal of increasing students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), many institutions of higher education offer outreach events to younger students. For students in rural communities, the ability to participate in such events is limited due to travel logistics and a shortage of relatable materials. We have developed a computer science (CS) outreach module aimed at engaging these rural and American Indian students and have run this outreach module at 18 outreach events, serving a total of 380 students. The module uses Critical Tribal Theory (TribalCrit) and the Alice programming environment to combine storytelling with an introduction to computational thinking, and is adaptable to the needs and interests of specific groups of students. We are motivated by the research question: How do storytelling and storymaking serve as effective means to teach computer science in rural and American Indian communities? In this work, we present a case study that begins to answer this question. We give a description of the module, different adaptations including how to implement it in a virtual setting, and supporting assessment material. We also report and analyze feedback through the lens of TribalCrit. Our goal is to provide insights and practical resources for computer science education researchers, STEM outreach practitioners, and educators and researchers working with rural and Indigenous communities who are interested in implementing, adapting, or studying culturally relevant approaches to CS outreach.