Adopting the STEM Guitar Curriculum to Prepare Students in American Samoa for Technician Education

American Samoa, located 10,000 miles from the United States mainland, is the only US Territory in the South Pacific Ocean. American Samoa Community College is the only college under the American Samoa Government on island. With this award, the College will establish the Technician Education Readiness Pathway to meet the critical need for a skilled technical workforce. Nearly all students entering American Samoa Community College require remediation in mathematics and reading, which bars them from enrolling in the existing Technician Education programs. Currently, less than 5% of high school teachers are rated as highly qualified in these subject areas. The Technician Education Readiness Pathway will adopt the STEM Guitar Building curriculum to enhance education in applied math, as well as technical reading and writing. This curriculum builds on the strong cultural connection that music plays in everyday life in American Samoa, thus providing additional motivation for students and teachers in the technician education pathway.

The goals of the project are to (1) improve student knowledge in STEM concepts, (2) increase the number of students eligible to enroll in Technician Education programs, and (3) prepare students for industry recognized certification exams. The Technician Education Readiness Pathway will establish a partnership between the faculty of American Samoa Community College Teacher Education Department (TED) and teachers from Nuuuli Vocational Technical High School. The partnership will provide professional development for 20 educators on the Guitar Building curriculum, which will include training on a CNC a computer programmed cutting system. The trained faculty and teachers will then work with at least 100 students over three years to integrate STEM learning with guitar building as they prepare to enroll in the Technician Education programs. Students that enter without the need for remedial coursework will be able to quickly earn a Technical certificate or degree, making them eligible for employment in the STEM workforce. American Samoa Community College will establish an advisory board. The American Samoa Telecommunication Authority is the industry partner to provide feedback along with Nuuuli Vocational Technical and Fa’asao High Schools to broadly disseminate the program’s successes.