Technology Capacity

Description

An evidence-based guide to diversifying the STEM pipeline through informal learning and digital empowerment.

In this forward-thinking publication, Kelm Research Center presents a comprehensive research model aimed at addressing racial, gender, and socioeconomic disparities in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce. Leveraging an emancipatory and transformative learning framework, this work provides actionable strategies for building technology capacity in underrepresented groups, including youth, women, and minorities from fragile communities.

Drawing from empirical studies and original research conducted at CUNY’s Medgar Evers College, this guide details the design of inclusive STEM Centers that serve pre-college students, undergraduates, and working professionals. These centers provide hands-on learning experiences, mentorship, micro-credentialing, and professional development to increase participation, persistence, and success in STEM careers.

Key features include:

• A data-driven logic model rooted in socio-behavioral and emancipatory research

• Strategies for using informal and co-curricular learning spaces to close the professional practices gap

• STEM center designs tailored to high school students, college learners, and the working adult population

• A full-scale research design for program evaluation, including logic models, metadata analysis, and impact assessments

This publication is essential for educators, policy-makers, STEM researchers, and institutions aiming to create equity-focused, community-informed learning environments that broaden participation in the technology workforce.