Classroom

Girls Who Game Brings Cultural Preservation to San Carlos Apache Tribe

Reaching students in 75 clubs around the world, the program aims to teach science, technology, engineering and math skills through games.

Rebecca Torchia

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Rebecca Torchia is a web editor for EdTech: Focus on K–12. Previously, she has produced podcasts and written for several publications in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and her hometown of Pittsburgh.

In an ongoing effort to tackle inequities in digital skills and science, technology, engineering and math fields, Dell Technologies introduced its Girls Who Game program to San Carlos Apache Tribe students in Arizona’s San Carlos Unified School District No. 20.

Girls Who Game, which was started in 2019 in partnership with Microsoft and Intel, has grown to include more than 75 clubs around the world.

Students in the program are exposed to STEM-based, real-world scenarios through the games. The San Carlos Apache Tribe students are no different. They create a digital world through Minecraft that visually represents their reservation.

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Introducing Students to Real-World Problem-Solving Through Games

The San Carlos Apache Tribe program has grown from eight to 44 student participants, according to a blog post from Dell Technologies. Building a world in the game that represents their own world allows the students to brainstorm and play out solutions to problems such as access to technology and cultural preservation.

The game gives the students a chance to test their critical-thinking skills with real-world applications, and it encourages a sense of community and pride in the students’ cultural traditions.

“It was clear that the program not only enhanced their self-identity of being an Apache but also led to positive changes for our tribes,” says Roberta Patten, a Girls Who Game coach for the San Carlos Apache Tribe, in the blog post.

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