Attending the 4 Corners Computer Science Convening this Summer gave 4CSCC a valuable opportunity to expand its regional partnerships. During the event’s networking sessions I met Tyrone Joe, a computer science teacher at Sanders Middle School. Joe has been recognized throughout the region with his involvement with STEM, attaining the 2023 CS Teaching Excellence Award for the Four Corners region, presented by the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) in collaboration with Infosys Foundation USA.
Mr. Joe’s Involvement and Collaboration
Mr. Joe is a key figure in regional CS education and is active in three major professional development cohorts: NAU’s Let’s Talk Code, University of Arizona’s Natives Who Code, and Code.org’s CS Discoveries. His interest in 4CSCC was piqued after reading about the club’s work and recognizing familiar faces from his networks attending the presentation.
Joe shared, “Teaching computer science was offset by the COVID pandemic, where numerous students were affected by lack of internet access, limited bandwidth, shared devices, and attendance issues.” In his classrooms, Mr. Joe integrates a range of CS platforms, including Tynker, codeSpark Academy, CS First, Kodable, Skill Struck, and Code.org’s CS Foundations and Discoveries. For the 2024 academic year, he plans to introduce Project STEM into his middle school curriculum.
Joe’s physical computing toolkit includes Micro:bit, Circuit Playground, Ozobots, Sphero BOLT, Edison robots, and Robolink CoDrone Mini, with plans to implement Dash and Cue robots in both elementary and middle school classes. Joe also has future goals to collaborate with Indigitize, to establish a computer science club (potentially under the Girls Who Code model); apply for CS-focused grants; and lead drone competitions on the Navajo Nation. Additionally, Joe plans to introduce LEGO Spike robotics in elementary grades.
4CSCC In-Class Sessions at Sanders Middle School
Building this connection offers allows me to fulfill duties as the 4CSCC Lead Instructor to deliver a series of outreach sessions at Sanders Middle School during the Fall 2024 semester. These included three one-hour workshops for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. The sessions were designed as a “crash course” in environmental education and scientific computing, with a hands-on approach that linked technology to students’ local environment.
Each session began with a presentation highlighting the importance of air quality and our physical surroundings. The 4CSCC curriculum is aligned with science standards and integrated environmental justice topics relevant to students’ daily lives. Issues such as dirt roads, trash burning, uranium mining, and wood stove usage were discussed as real-life examples that affect air quality and public health in their communities. Students learned how computing tools—such as environmental sensors and microcontrollers—can be used to monitor these conditions and improve quality of life.
Future Outlook
The partnership between Sanders Middle School and 4CSCC is expected to continue in the upcoming semester, with the potential for follow-up visits and expanded programming. With educators like Mr. Joe leading the way, 4CSCC looks forward to supporting a new generation of Native youth in computer science and environmental stewardship.
Click HERE more information about the Four Corners Science and Computing club.
View more 4CSCC collaborative efforts HERE.