How does your cultural heritage influence the way that you approach design? Our country needs diverse perspectives in STEM in order to drive innovation and create culturally relevant solutions to real-world problems. Advanced STEM education could play an important role in strengthening communities and expanding career pathways for Native American students. In this talk, I will share ongoing research exploring the ways in which Navajo students and Navajo professionals experience and understand engineering design in the context of their culture, community, and society. Results have informed the design of culturally responsive engineering design curricula that teaches Navajo culture and engineering design together in a holistic way. These curricula aligned with the Diné Culture Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards have been piloted in 6 middle school science classrooms in the Navajo Nation, and are being evaluated as a way to broaden participation in and pathways to engineering. This process could be used to develop culturally responsive curricula for other cultures.
