According to Mintzes and Wanderse: “Our perceptions of objects and events in the natural world are strongly dependent on our store of prior knowledge we view the world through a pair of ‘conceptual goggles’.” 3 These goggles are heavily influenced by culture. The process for seeing the value of diverse perspectives and diverse cultures begins early, usually through learning about multiple cultures in the school system where many social perspectives are formed. Teachers who understand the historical origins and present circumstances of different social groups help students to understand these issues as well. Understanding must go beyond what Moll and Gonzalez call “tangible surface markers,” such as dance, food, language, folklore, and ethnic heritage festivals. Understanding takes into account the everyday lived experiences of diverse cultures represented by students and their families. 4 Teachers should enter their students’ households and communities as “learners,” seeking to understand the ways in which people make sense of their everyday lives. Teachers of multiple cultures should have direct experience in the communities they discuss.

Higher education and the professional workplace have a number of organizations that serve the important role of providing support mechanisms and programs to increase the participation of particular cultures in science and engineering, including IT. These organizations include the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), the National Society of Black Engineering (NSBE), the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). We announce a new, complementary effort in which groups, companies, and organizations focused on underrepresented cultures in IT have a forum to develop synergistic activities and leverage from each other—the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT), launched in March 2010.

CMD-IT was created by five people
experienced with enhancing diversity
within the IT field: Ron Eglash (Rens-
selaer Polytechnic Institute), Ann
Gates (University of Texas in El Paso),
Richard Ladner (University of Wash-
ington), Bryant York (Portland State
University), and the author. CMD-IT
facilitates synergistic activities among
industry, established organizations,
and local projects related to ethnic
minorities and people with disabili-
ties in IT. The organization grew out of
an NSF-sponsored meeting on Diver-
sity in IT held at Texas A&M University
in April 2008. That meeting identified
the following goal for CMD-IT: To en-
sure that underrepresented groups are
fully engaged in information technolo-
gies, and to promote innovation that
enriches, enhances, and enables these
communities such that more equitable
and sustainable contributions are pos-
sible by all communities. That goal is
made operational through the follow-
ing objectives:

References

1. CRA Taulbee Report, http://www.cra.org

2. Korkki, P. Internet, mobile phones named most important inventions. New York Times, (Mar. 7, 2009).

3. Mintzes, j. and Wanderse, j.h. Reform and innovation in science teaching: A human constructive view. In j.j. Mintzes, j.h. Wandersee, and j.D. novak, eds., Teaching Science for Understanding: A Human Constructivist View, Academic Press san Diego, CA, 1997.

4. Moll, l.C. and Gonzalez, n. Teachers as social scientists: learning about culture from household research. In P.M. hall, ed., Race, Ethnicity, and Multiculturalism: Policy and Practice, Routledge, 1997.

5. Rogof, b. The Culture of Human Development. oxford university Press, new york, 2003.

6. umbach, P.D. The contribution of faculty of color to undergraduate education. Research in Higher Education 47, (2006).

7. u.s. Census bureau; http://www.census.gov

 

Valerie E. Taylor ( [e-mail]) is the holder of the Royce e. Wisenbaker Professorship and Department head of the Department of Computer science at Texas A&M university.