Female, Black, Latinx, Native American, low-income, and rural students remain underrepresented among computer science undergraduate degree recipients. Along with student, family, and secondary school characteristics, college organizational climate, curricula, and instructional practices shape undergraduates’ experiences that foster persistence until graduation. Our quasi-experimental project, Improving the Persistence and Success of Students from Underrepresented Populations in Computer Science (I-PASS), is designed to augment students’ persistence until they earn their computer science degree. Drawing on prior research, including Tinto's model of effective institutional actions for retention, I-PASS Scholars—all low-income, female and/or members of underserved demographics groups— receive a four-year scholarship; mentoring, tutoring, advising; and opportunities to integrate into the academic and social life of the campus. Students’ written reflections and attitude surveys suggest I-PASS's components foster their retention by, among other mechanisms, enhancing their computer science identity development and sense of belonging in the major.
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Toward a Descriptive Science of Teaching: How the TDOP Illuminates the Multidimensional Nature of Active Learning in Postsecondary Classrooms: TOWARD A DESCRIPTIVE SCIENCE OF CLASSROOM
- Award ID(s):
- 1224624
- PAR ID:
- 10013008
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Science Education
- Volume:
- 99
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0036-8326
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 783 to 818
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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ABSTRACT Sci-Toons is a new, experimental, teaching and learning approach that engages students in materials science research via interaction with experts, narrative, visual representations, iterative feedback and multimedia platforms. Based on a model (the Multimedia Theoretical Learning Framework) and multimedia design principles, Sci-Toon Creation Group (SCG) members, which include both science and non-science majors, work with faculty to produce video animations dealing with scientific topics. The creative process of producing scripts for two selected Sci-Toons videos dealing with materials science subjects (Graphene and Conductive Polymers) are discussed; initial and final versions of each are combined through use of Word Clouds. The videos that are produced are distributed via the internet, providing instruction and information about materials sciences and other STEM topics. Demographic data about the types of individuals downloading these Sci-Toons are provided. We conclude that Sci-Toons can be used in both formal and informal educational settings for science learning and teaching as well as in communicating materials science concepts to broad audiences including females and underrepresented minorities students.more » « less
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