Speaking My Language

Dr. Ivon Arroyo still remembers the moment that sparked her passion for educational technology.

“I had a nephew, my first nephew, and I remember he was 1-year-old and he was sitting in my lap, and I was teaching him how to use the mouse on my computer,” she recalls. “I realized that he was very interested. I wanted to make it more interesting for him, and I created a memory game for him.”

It was a simple, playful experiment—but for Dr. Arroyo, it was also a revelation. She had always been drawn to both computer science and education, but in that moment, she saw how the two fields could be seamlessly combined. “I had to learn as part of my training to speak both languages, the language of computer science and the language of education,” she says.

That ability to bridge different worlds became central to her career. Now an associate professor at UMass Amherst’s College of Education and the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, Dr. Arroyo develops educational technology that makes learning more engaging, inclusive, and accessible for English language learners. 

This work sparked a collaboration between Drs. Arroyo, Marialuisa Di Stefano, and Beverly Woolf, aiming to transform math education where they designed a digital tutoring system that toggles back and forth between English and Spanish depending on the wishes of the learner. “The idea is to help students who have this dual identity,” she explains, referring to children who speak Spanish at home but are often expected to leave their native language behind in English-only classrooms. “Otherwise, it's as if they need to leave part of themselves outside of the classroom in order to learn STEM, and that is pretty dehumanizing.” 

This team project received seed grant funding from the Institute of Diversity Sciences (IDS).

While Hispanic individuals make up nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population, they comprise a very small minority of STEM students and workers. Dr. Arroyo and her team are working to close that gap by addressing a fundamental barrier: the lack of linguistically responsive resources in STEM education.

By integrating bilingual instruction and Hispanic digital avatars into math tutoring software, the project ensures that students don’t just learn math, but they also see themselves as part of math learning environments through the avatars. The software is offered for free to Hispanic students in math classes and afterschool programs in Holyoke, Massachusetts, with researchers studying its impact on math proficiency, language skills, and students’ sense of connection to STEM fields.

“Our system is a great way to spark interest by learning mathematics through some form of a digital game,” Dr. Arroyo says.

Her work is rooted in a belief that math education should reflect and respect the diverse realities of students. “It is very important to be able to encounter mathematics and STEM in general in a way that is faithful to students’ realities,” she says.

Dr. Arroyo’s own STEM journey hasn’t been without challenges; moments where she felt like she might not belong. “I remember finding some of my classes really hard, particularly in graduate school, and being afraid maybe that computer science wasn’t for me,” she says.

She credits perseverance—but also knowing when to ask for help—as key to her success. “You really have to be able to reach out in moments of difficulty. It’s very important to ask for help, to go to office hours, to talk to your professors, to say what is working, what’s not working.”

Now, Dr. Arroyo is helping ensure that future generations don’t have to navigate those challenges alone—her lab regularly creates mentorship opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds. Thanks to IDS funding, the digital tutoring project has employed graduate students proficient in Spanish, who have received hands-on training and guidance from an interdisciplinary faculty team.   

Through her research, Dr. Arroyo is redefining what inclusive education can look like—helping bilingual students embrace their full identities while excelling in STEM.

By bringing technology and education together, she is ensuring that the next generation of students—like her nephew all those years ago—finds learning not just accessible, but exciting.