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1. Computational Thinking in the Formation of Engineers: Year 3

   Mendoza Diaz, Noemi V ; Meier, Russ ; Trytten, Deborah Anne ; Moore, Janie M ; Yoon, So Yoon ; Hogan, Harry A ( June 2023 , American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition)

   This project has been dedicated to advance the way computational thinking is taught to engineering undergraduate students with a multitude of social identities. It is an expectation that with the understanding of the multiple factors that affect computational thinking skills development, students succeed in enculturating to the engineering professional practice. During the third year of this project, the first major result is the conclusion of the validation process of the Engineering Computational Thinking Diagnostic (ECTD) making use of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA-CFA). Our validation showed that the ECTD questions cluster in one factor, what we call the computational thinking factor for engineers. Other validation statistical processes (i.e. correlations, regressions, ANOVA and t-tests) proved the predictability potential use of this tool in determining how well prepared students arrive to the engineering classroom and how their prior coding experience can determine their success in introductory coding engineering courses. The second major result is the revelation that the inequities caused by the many forms of privilege that some engineering students benefit from are being exacerbated by the integration of computational thinking into introductory engineering classes. Due to pandemic-related challenges in recruiting a representative sample of participants, the majority of the self-selected participants in our research identify with groups with disproportionately large participation in engineering (specifically White and Asian) and are academically successful in engineering. To respond to this challenge we are seeking to broaden our perspective by seeking participants with failing grades for a final round of data collection, although we are well aware that students in this group are often reluctant to participate in research. The fourth and last major result is related to the position of stress versus Artificial Intelligence (AI) perceptions, both part of the ECTD instrument. The position of stress questions involved perceived difficulty and confidence level after taking the ECTD. The artificial intelligence question asked the perceived impact of AI in students’ future career prospects. Preliminary analysis is suggesting that confidence level is correlated with AI positive perceptions. Although not part of the original NSF grant, we considered AI the natural evolution of computational thinking in the formation of engineers and plan to continue our work in this direction. 

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2. Impact of Social and Programmatic Experiences on Students’ Interest in Pursuing a Graduate Degree in a Computing Field

   Maral Kargarmoakhar, Stephanie Jill ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Annual Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   There is a substantial shortage of students pursuing graduate degrees in computing fields in the United States [1], and when examining participation rates of minoritized populations the disparity is even greater [2]. In order to attract more domestic students to graduate schools in computing it is important to understand what factors encourage or discourage them from participating. Literature suggests that students’ family, friends, school, and society play an important role in their educational paths and self-perceptions. Using social impact theory as the guiding lens, we explored support from family and friends, as well as social and program-related experiences, in this study to assess their impact on undergraduate students' reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree. The research questions that guided this study are 1) Which social and programmatic experiences have the greatest impact on students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in computing?; and 2) How does a student’s gender/racial/ethnic background and their participation in social and programmatic experiences impact students’ interest in pursuing graduate degrees? We answered these research questions using data from a survey conducted at three large public universities in Florida which targeted students in computing fields (n=740). Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as well as logistic regression. The findings revealed that “presenting work to other students,” and “research experience” are two experiences which lead to an increase of students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. This study also demonstrated the importance of having same gender friends and reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. These findings provide insight into which experiences may impact domestic students' interest in pursuing graduate programs in computing fields. The results of this study are beneficial for universities to consider what factors may encourage more students to pursue a future in academia or in the workforce after obtaining a graduate degree. 

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3. Impact of Social and Programmatic Experiences on Students’ Interest in Pursuing a Graduate Degree in a Computing Field

   Kargarmoakhar, M. ( June 2021 , ASEE annual conference)

   null (Ed.)

   There is a substantial shortage of students pursuing graduate degrees in computing fields in the United States [1], and when examining participation rates of minoritized populations the disparity is even greater [2]. In order to attract more domestic students to graduate schools in computing it is important to understand what factors encourage or discourage them from participating. Literature suggests that students’ family, friends, school, and society play an important role in their educational paths and self-perceptions. Using social impact theory as the guiding lens, we explored support from family and friends, as well as social and program-related experiences, in this study to assess their impact on undergraduate students' reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree. The research questions that guided this study are 1) Which social and programmatic experiences have the greatest impact on students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in computing?; and 2) How does a student’s gender/racial/ethnic background and their participation in social and programmatic experiences impact students’ interest in pursuing graduate degrees? We answered these research questions using data from a survey conducted at three large public universities in Florida which targeted students in computing fields (n=740). Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as well as logistic regression. The findings revealed that “presenting work to other students,” and “research experience” are two experiences which lead to an increase of students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. This study also demonstrated the importance of having same gender friends and reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. These findings provide insight into which experiences may impact domestic students' interest in pursuing graduate programs in computing fields. The results of this study are beneficial for universities to consider what factors may encourage more students to pursue a future in academia or in the workforce after obtaining a graduate degree. 

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4. Impact of Social and Programmatic Experiences on Students’ Interest in Pursuing a Graduate Degree in a Computing Field

   Kargarmoakhar, M. ; Lunn, S. ; Ross, M. ; Hazari, Z. ; Weiss, M.A. ; Christensen, K. ; Georgiopoulos, M. ; Solis, T. ( July 2021 , 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference)

   There is a substantial shortage of students pursuing graduate degrees in computing fields in the United States [1], and when examining participation rates of minoritized populations the disparity is even greater [2]. In order to attract more domestic students to graduate schools in computing it is important to understand what factors encourage or discourage them from participation. Literature suggests that students’ family, friends, school, and society play an important role in students' educational paths, and their own self-perceptions. Using social impact theory as the guiding lens, we explore support from family and friends, as well as social and program-related experiences, in this study to assess their impact on undergraduate students' reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree. The research questions guiding this study are 1) Which social and programmatic experiences have the greatest impact on students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in computing?; and 2) How does a student’s gender/racial/ethnic background and their participation in social and programmatic experiences impact students’ interest in pursuing graduate degrees? We answered these research questions using data from a survey conducted at three large public universities in Florida which targeted students in computing fields (n=740). Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as well as logistic regression. The findings revealed that “presenting work to other students,” and “research experience” are two experiences which lead to an increase of students’ interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. This study also revealed the importance of having same gender friends and reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. These findings provide insight into which experiences may impact domestic students' interest in pursuing graduate programs in computing fields. The results of this study are beneficial for universities to consider for encouraging more students to pursue a future in academia or in the workforce after obtaining a graduate degree. 

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5. All the Pieces Matter: The Relationship of Momentary Self-efficacy and Affective Experiences with CS1 Achievement and Interest in Computing

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3446871.3469740  

   Lishinski, Alex ; Rosenberg, Joshua ( August 2021 , Proceedings of the 17th ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research)

   Ko, A. K. (Ed.)

   There are significant participation gaps in computing, and the way to address these participation gaps lies not simply in getting students from underrepresented groups into a CS1 classroom, but supporting students to pursue their interest in computing further beyond CS1. There are many factors that may influence students’ pursuit of computing beyond introductory courses, including their sense that they can do what CS courses require of them (their self-efficacy) and positive emotional experiences in CS courses. When interest has been addressed in computing education, research has treated it mostly as an outcome of particular pedagogical approaches or curricula; what has not been studied is how students’ longer-term interest develops through more granular experiences that students have as they begin to engage with computing. In this paper, we present the results of a study designed to investigate how students’ interest in computing develops as a product of their momentary self-efficacy and affective experiences. Using a methodology that is relatively uncommon to computer science education—the experience sampling method, which involves frequently asking students brief, unobtrusive questions about their experiences—we surveyed CS1 students every week over the course of a semester to capture the nuances of their experiences. 74 CS1 students responded 14-18 times over the course of a semester about their self-efficacy, frustration, and situational interest. With this data, we used a multivariate, multi-level statistical model that allowed us to estimate how students’ granular, momentary experiences (measured through the experience sampling method surveys) and initial interest, self-efficacy, and self-reported gender (measured through traditional surveys) relate to their longer-term interest and achievement in the course. We found that students’ momentary experiences have a significant impact on their interest in computing and course outcomes, even controlling for the self-efficacy and interest students reported at the beginning of the semester. We also found significant gender differences in students’ momentary experiences, however, these were reduced substantially when students’ self-efficacy was added to the model, suggesting that gender gaps could instead be self-efficacy gaps. These results suggest that students’ momentary experiences in CS1, how they experience the course week to week, have an impact on their longer-term interest and learning outcomes. Furthermore, we found that male and female students reported different experiences, suggesting that improving the CS1 experiences that students have could help to close gender-related participation gaps. In all, this study shows that the granular experiences students have in CS1 matter for key outcomes of interest to computing education researchers and educators and that the experience sampling method, more common in fields adjacent to computer science education, provides one way for researchers to integrate the experiences students have into our accounts of why students become interested in computing. 

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