Computer science (CS) and information technology (IT) curricula are grounded in theoretical and technical skills. Topics like equity and inclusive design are rarely found in mainstream student studies. This results in graduates with outdated practices and limitations in software development. A research project was conducted to educate the faculty to integrate inclusive software design into the CS undergraduate curriculum. The objective is to produce graduates with the ability to develop inclusive software.
This experience report presents the results of teaching inclusive design throughout the four-year CS and IT curriculum, focusing on the impact on faculty. This easy-to-adopt, high-impact approach improved student retention and classroom climate, broadening participation. Research questions address faculty understanding of inclusive software design, the approach's feasibility, improvement in students’ ability to design equitable software, and assessment of the inclusiveness culture for students in computing programs.
Faculty attended a summer workshop to learn about inclusive design and update their teaching materials to include the GenderMag method. Beginning in CS0 and CS1 and continuing through Senior Capstone, faculty used updated course assignments to include inclusive design in 10 courses for 44 sections taught. Faculty outcomes are positive, with the planning to include inclusive design and working with other department faculty most engaging. Faculty were impressed by student ownership and adoption of inclusive design methods, particularly in the culminating capstone senior project.
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“Regular” CS x Inclusive Design = Smarter Students and Greater Diversity
What if “regular” CS faculty each taught elements of inclusive design in “regular” CS courses across an undergraduate curriculum? Would it affect the CS program's climate and inclusiveness to diverse students? Would it improve retention? Would students learn less CS? Would they actually learn any inclusive design? To answer these questions, we conducted a year-long Action Research investigation, in which 13 CS faculty integrated elements of inclusive design into 44 CS/IT offerings across a 4-year curriculum. The 613 affected students’ educational work products, grades, and/or climate questionnaire responses revealed significant improvements in students’ course outcomes (higher course grades and fewer course fails/incompletes/withdrawals), especially for marginalized groups; revealed that most students did learn and apply inclusive design concepts to their CS activities; and revealed that inclusion and teamwork in the courses significantly improved. These results suggest a new pathway for significantly improving students’ retention, their knowledge and usage of inclusive design, and their experiences across CS education—for marginalized groups and for all students.
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- PAR ID:
- 10419501
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ACM Transactions on Computing Education
- ISSN:
- 1946-6226
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3603535
