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1. An Exploration of Black Students Interacting with Computing College and Career Readiness Vlog Commentary Social Media Influencers

   https://doi.org/10.1109/MCSE.2020.3005635  

   Cummings, Robert T; Huff, Earl W.; Mack, Naja A.; Womack, Kevin; Reid, Amber; Ghoram, Brandon; Gosha, Kinnis; Gilbert, Juan E (January 2020, Computing in Science & Engineering)

   Effective advisement can help to address the disproportionately lower self-efficacy, identity, and sense of belonging experienced by Black students in computing degree programs.. Black social media influencers who produce video log (vlog) commentary content on the YouTube platform were investigated to determine the influence they have on improving computing identity for Black students. This exploratory study consists of three studies: (1) a synthesis of vlog commentary college and career advisement videos, coding for the quality of advisement, usability, and user experience; (2) an advisor effectiveness and user experience survey using a selected Black social media influencer who provides computing college and career advisement; and (3) a user experience and interaction preference survey using a selected Black social media influencer. Findings suggest YouTube influencers could be effective, particularly for beginners in the computing field. Future studies intend to further explore Black computing advisement through social media over a long term and at varying levels of interaction. 

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2. How Do Educational Experiences Predict Computing Identity?

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3470653  

   Lunn, Stephanie; Ross, Monique; Hazari, Zahra; Weiss, Mark Allen; Georgiopoulos, Michael; Christensen, Kenneth (June 2022, ACM Transactions on Computing Education)

   Despite increasing demands for skilled workers within the technological domain, there is still a deficit in the number of graduates in computing fields (computer science, information technology, and computer engineering). Understanding the factors that contribute to students’ motivation and persistence is critical to helping educators, administrators, and industry professionals better focus efforts to improve academic outcomes and job placement. This article examines how experiences contribute to a student’s computing identity, which we define by their interest, recognition, sense of belonging, and competence/performance beliefs. In particular, we consider groups underrepresented in these disciplines, women and minoritized racial/ethnic groups (Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx). To delve into these relationships, a survey of more than 1,600 students in computing fields was conducted at three metropolitan public universities in Florida. Regression was used to elucidate which experiences predict computing identity and how social identification (i.e., as female, Black/African American, and/or Hispanic/Latinx) may interact with these experiences. Our results suggest that several types of experiences positively predict a student’s computing identity, such as mentoring others, having a job, or having friends in computing. Moreover, certain experiences have a different effect on computing identity for female and Hispanic/Latinx students. More specifically, receiving academic advice from teaching assistants was more positive for female students, receiving advice from industry professionals was more negative for Hispanic/Latinx students, and receiving help on classwork from students in their class was more positive for Hispanic/Latinx students. Other experiences, while having the same effect on computing identity across students, were experienced at significantly different rates by females, Black/African American students, and Hispanic/Latinx students. The findings highlight experiential ways in which computing programs can foster computing identity development, particularly for underrepresented and marginalized groups in computing. 

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3. How Do Educational Experiences Predict Computing Identity?

   Lunn, Stephanie; Ross, Monique; Hazari, Zahara; Weiss, Mark; Georgiopoulos, Michael; Christensen, Ken (June 2022, ACM transactions on computing education)

   Despite increasing demands for skilled workers within the technological domain, there is still a deficit in the number of graduates in computing fields (computer science, information technology, and computer engineering). Understanding the factors that contribute to students’ motivation and persistence is critical to helping educators, administrators, and industry professionals better focus efforts to improve academic outcomes and job placement. This article examines how experiences contribute to a student’s computing identity, which we define by their interest, recognition, sense of belonging, and competence/performance beliefs. In particular, we consider groups underrepresented in these disciplines, women and minoritized racial/ethnic groups (Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx). To delve into these relationships, a survey of more than 1,600 students in computing fields was conducted at three metropolitan public universities in Florida. Regression was used to elucidate which experiences predict computing identity and how social identification (i.e., as female, Black/African American, and/or Hispanic/Latinx) may interact with these experiences. Our results suggest that several types of experiences positively predict a student’s computing identity, such as mentoring others, having a job, or having friends in computing. Moreover, certain experiences have a different effect on computing identity for female and Hispanic/Latinx students. More specifically, receiving academic advice from teaching assistants was more positive for female students, receiving advice from industry professionals was more negative for Hispanic/Latinx students, and receiving help on classwork from students in their class was more positive for Hispanic/Latinx students. Other experiences, while having the same effect on computing identity across students, were experienced at significantly different rates by females, Black/African American students, and Hispanic/Latinx students. The findings highlight experiential ways in which computing programs can foster computing identity development, particularly for underrepresented and marginalized groups in computing. 

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4. Atlanta Code Warriors: A CS Engagement Pilot Initiative

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30712-7_25  

   Huff, E.W; Nias, J; Cummings, R.T; Mack, N.A; Gosha, K. (January 2019, Proceedings of the HCI International 2019 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction)

   The STEM workforce is vastly growing, however, underrepresented groups only account for under 12% of those in science and engineering occupations and for many in these jobs and industries, a 4 year degree is the most reasonable path. It is through this research that we seek to focus and address the challenges that inhibit minority populations in K-12 levels from the motivation and preparation that will align them with future computer science/IT college and career pathway (CSTEM) career fields. Prior research has shown that beliefs around self identity in STEM fields can positively impact behavior and achievement of students in computing disciplines, while increasing African American students belonging can decrease the student achievement gap. The initiatives presented in this paper seek to leverage the inherent value of minority student presence on the campus of a Historically Black institution as a means to normalize student perception of college access and future C-STEM identity 

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5. Comparative Study of the Intersection of Engineering Identify and Black Identity of African-American Engineering Students at a PWI and an HBCU

   Berhan, L.; Kumar, R.; Goodloe, M.; Jones, J.; Adams, A. (June 2018, ASEE annual conference & exposition)

   This interdisciplinary, inter-institutional research initiation project is motivated by the need to develop practical strategies for broadening the participation of African American students in engineering. The central objective of the project is to conduct a comparative study of the factors affecting the success and pathways to engineering careers of African American students at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI), the University of Toledo, and a Historically Black University (Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University). Through this research we hope to gain insight into the factors affecting the social and academic well-being of students at PWIs and HBCUs from a psychological and anthropological perspective. For students from underrepresented groups in STEM at both HBCUs and PWIs it is generally recognized that social capital in the form of familial, peer and mentor support is critical to persistence in their major field of study. However, the role that embedded networks within student groups in general, and minority engineering affinity groups in particular, play in engineering students’ identity formation and academic success is not well understood. It is also not clear how other factors including institutional support and the attitudes and beliefs of faculty and staff toward underrepresented minority students affect the ability of these students to integrate into the social and academic systems at their institutions and how these factors influence the formation and development of their identities as engineers. Here we report on the role of membership in organizations for underrepresented minority engineering students such as the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) in contributing to the interlinking of personal and professional identities, and to the career pathways of African American students enrolled in PWI and HBCU, respectively. 

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