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<div><p>This paper details the development and evaluation of software that allows middle school students to explore the mathematical aspects of Ghanaian Adinkra symbols. We tested the effectiveness of this simulation in a Ghanaian junior high school by conducting a randomized quasi-experiment. We begin this paper by framing culturally responsive math education within the interventionist tradition of ethnomathematics. We draw this tradition together with an empirical exploration of the mathematics embedded in Adinkra symbols. We follow this with a methodological explanation for how we translated the mathematical significance of Adinkra into the design of our software, “Culturally Situated Design Tools.” Finally, we describe the quasi-experimental evaluation of the software using a randomized assignment of students in control and intervention groups in Ghana. We found statistically significant improvement for students using the culture-based software in comparison to similar software with no cultural content.</p></div>

This paper uses the metaphor of engineering bait-and-switch to characterize the misalignment between educational approaches of major K-12 engineering initiatives and traditional highereducation engineering programs. We argue that this misalignment is the result of divergent underlying educational logics. While K-12 engineering education is notably inclusive, "baiting" student interest with context-driven, open-ended problem solving, higher engineering education "switches" toward an exclusive, abstract fundamentals-first approach. The paper begins by contextualizing engineering education as a political and economic issue in the US. Next, we describe K-12 programs and elaborate how they typically employ a logic of engagement. Then we describe university programs and elaborate how they employ a logic of exclusion. Finally, we review a program at our institution that seeks to resolve the underlying misalignment of engineering bait-and-switch, highlighting some of the ways it achieves engagement and avoids exclusion.