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

Lead Staff:
Teresa Lara-Meloy
Nuria Jaumot-Pascual
Project Staff:
Ken Rafanan
Santiago Gasca

Other Project Staff

Project Summary

AMPD4MATH was the flagship project of a partnership between TERC and the Cesar Chavez Foundation (CCF) Education Fund. Middle school youth engaged in design-and-making projects that addressed community goals. The project aimed to change youth’s relationship with mathematics by providing opportunities to do important mathematics while drawing on community and cultural strengths, particularly community mathematical know-how. The project used a co-design framework to develop an equity-focused making program. AMPD4MATH relied on the life and values of Cesar Chavez as a touchstone for rural Latinx youth’s positive identity.

AMPD4Math engaged 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 was a design and development project. The project co-designed the program with two afterschool programs in the first year of the program. In years 2 and 3, the project trained afterschool facilitators and collected data on the program’s effectiveness.

Impact

AMPD4MATH provided Latinx youth with access to these tools and brought greater opportunities to engage in STEM work.

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: