Afterschool Making Projects with Design Thinking and Mathematics with Latinx Communities (AMPED 4 Making)

Lead Staff:
Teresa Lara-Meloy
Jennifer Knudsen
Nuria Jaumot-Pascual
Project Staff:
Ken Rafanan
Santiago Gasca
Rachel Hayes
Elise Levin-Güracar

Lead Staff at Cesar Chavez Foundation

Celia García Alvarado

Project Summary

AMPD4MATH will be the flagship project of a partnership between TERC and the Cesar Chavez Foundation (CCF) Education Fund. Middle school youth will engage in design-and-making projects that address community goals. This project aims for changes in youth’s relationship with mathematics: Youth will have opportunities to do important mathematics while drawing on community and cultural strengths, particularly in community mathematical know-how. The project uses a co-design framework to develop an equity-focused making program. AMPD4MATH relies on the life and values of Cesar Chavez as a touchstone for rural Latinx youth’s positive identity.

AMPD4Math will engage Latinx youth who live in the agricultural regions of the Southwest United States to develop their

  • agency and positive identity, as makers, mathematical doers and users, and community members
  • understanding of grade-appropriate mathematics, such as the volume and surface area of geometric shapes, within the context of informal learning projects.
  • perceptions of how they can use mathematics, design, and making in their future lives and work.

A younger girl looking at a 3D printer

Research Activity

This is a design and development project. The project will co-design the program with two afterschool programs in the first year of the program. In years 2 and 3, the project will train afterschool facilitators and collect data on the program’s effectiveness.

Impact

AMPD4MATH provides Latinx youth with access to these tools, bringing greater opportunities to engage in STEM work, including work in home communities—of particular importance in rural settings. The program promises to reach 100,000 youth over the next decade through outreach by the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

Conference Presentations

AMPED 4 Making staff presented at the 2025 END International Conference. The conference offered a worldwide connection between teachers, students, researchers, and lecturers, from a wide range of academic fields, interested in exploring and giving their contribution to educational issues.

Sessions from Ken Rafanan, Nuria Jaumot-Pascual, Teresa Lara-Meloy, Jennifer Knudsen, and Elise Levin-Güracar included: