More Like this

1. Underrepresented Students in Computer Science: Understanding the Barriers of Enrollment and Engagement in Computer Science Courses in High Schools.

   Greenwood, J. & (January 2022, Pennsylvania Sociological Society Annual Meeting)

   This qualitative research project is part of a larger NSF-funded grant entitled "Cogenerative Development of Culturally Relevant Pedagogical Guidelines for Computer Science and Computational Thinking in High Schools." During Year 1 of the project, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 high school students to better understand the challenges and barriers to enrollment in and engagement/success in Computer Science courses in high school. A grounded theory approach was used, given the exploratory nature of the study. Students were selected from three partner schools and had to meet at least one of the criteria associated with underrepresented students in Computer Science: identifying as female; low socioeconomic status; and/or racial/ethnic minority (Black/African American; Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx; Native American/Alaskan, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or multi-racial). Common themes that emerged included the following: Challenges (Financial Factors, Role of Gender (i.e. identifying as female), and Race/Ethnicity Issues); Positive Influences (Role of Teacher, Role of Family); Other Interesting Insights (Wanting to be challenged in Computer Science Classes, Problems with the Marketing of Computer Science as a discipline). Limitations of the current study are discussed as well as directions for future research and implications for a more culturally relevant pedagogical approach to teaching Computer Science and Computational Thinking in high schools. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation CS for All: Research and RPPs program, Award No. 2122367. 

   more » « less
2. Improving Computer Science Instruction and Computer Use for African American Secondary School Students: A Focus Group Exploration of Computer Science Identity of African American Teachers

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3322385.3322399  

   Hampton, Lelia; Cummings, Robert; Gosha, Kinnis (January 2019, Proceedings of the ACM SIGMIS ‘19: 2019 on Computers and People Research Conference)

   As the demand for computing careers increases, it is important to implement strategies to broaden the participation in computer science for African Americans. Computer science courses and academic pathways are not always offered in secondary schools. Many teachers are not trained in computer science, yet are pushed to incorporate more computing, computational thinking, and computer usage. A qualitative focus group study was implemented to assess the computer science identities of African American teachers and of their respective urban secondary schools serving African American students. Three major codes were identified: district administration of computer and computing implementation, teacher attitudes towards computer science instruction, and teachers’ recommendations to improve computer science and computational thinking instruction and outreach for African American secondary school students. Findings can be used to improve computer science and technology rollout programs from county and district administrations, teacher instruction with digital tools, and computer science outreach for African American secondary school students. 

   more » « less
3. Fostering Greater Persistence Among Underserved Computer Science Undergraduates: A Descriptive Study of the I-PASS Project

   https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251221086928  

   Mickelson, Roslyn_Arlin; Mikkelsen, Ian; Dorodchi, Mohsen; Cukic, Bojan; Horn, Tytianna (March 2022, Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice)

   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. 

   more » « less
4. Cogenerative Dialogues and Development of the Culturally Relevant Pedagogical Guidelines for Computational Thinking and Computer Science.

   Sirrakos, G. (January 2023, American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies Annual Meeting)

   In this proposal, we will share some initial findings about how teacher and student engagement in cogenerative dialogues influenced the development of the Culturally Relevant Pedagogical Guidelines for Computational Thinking and Computer Science (CRPG-CSCT). The CRPG-CSCT’s purpose is to provide computer science teachers with tools to enhance their instruction by accurately reflecting students’ diverse cultural resources in the classroom. Additionally, the CRPG-CSCT will provide guidance to non-computer science teachers on how to facilitate the integration of computational thinking skills to a broad spectrum of classes in the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and mathematics. Our initial findings shared here are part of a larger NSF-funded research project (Award No. 2122367) which aims to better understand the barriers to entry and challenges for success faced by underrepresented secondary school students in computer science, through direct engagement with the students themselves. Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, the researchers have been working with a small team of secondary school teachers, students, and instructional designers, as well as university faculty in computer science, secondary education, and sociology to develop the CRPG-CSCT. The CRPG-CSCT is rooted in the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995) and borrows from Muhammad’s (2020) work in Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. The CRPG-CCT is being developed over six day-long workshops held throughout the academic year. At the time of this submission, five of the six workshops had been completed. Each workshop utilized cogenerative dialogues (cogens) as the primary tool for organizing and sustaining participants’ engagement. Through cogens, participants more deeply learn about students’ cultural capital and the value of utilizing that capital within the classroom (Roth, Lawless, & Tobin, 2000). The success of cogens relies on following specific protocols (Emdin, 2016), such as listening attentively, ensuring there are equal opportunities for all participants to share, and affirming the experiences of other participants. The goal of a cogen is to reach a collective decision, based on the dialogue, that will positively impact students by explicitly addressing barriers to their engagement in the classroom. During each workshop, one member of the research team and one undergraduate research assistant observed the interactions among cogen participants and documented these in the form of ethnographic field notes. Another undergraduate research assistant took detailed notes during the workshop to record the content of small and large group discussions, presentations, and questions/responses throughout the workshops. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the field notes. Additionally, at the conclusion of each workshop, participants completed a Cogen Feedback Survey (CFS) to gather additional information. The CFS were analyzed through open thematic coding, memos, and code frequencies. Our preliminary results demonstrate high levels of engagement from teacher and student participants during the workshops. Students identified that the cogen structure allowed them to participate comfortably, openly, and honestly. Further, students described feeling valued and heard. Students’ ideas and experiences were frequently affirmed, which served as an important step toward dismantling traditional teacher-student boundaries that might otherwise prevent them from sharing freely. Another result from the use of cogens was the shared experience of participants comprehending views from the other group’s perspective in the classroom. Students appreciated the opportunity to learn from teachers about their struggles in keeping students engaged. Teachers appreciated the opportunity to better understand students’ schooling experiences and how these may affirm or deny aspects of their identity. Finally, all participants shared meaningful suggestions and strategies for future workshops and for the collective betterment of the group. Initial findings shared here are important for several reasons. First, our findings suggest that cogens are an effective approach for fostering participants’ commitment to creating the conditions for students’ success in the classroom. Within the context of the workshops, cogens provided teachers, students, and faculty with opportunities to engage in authentic conversations for addressing the recruitment and retention problems in computer science for underrepresented students. These conversations often resulted in the development of tangible pedagogical approaches, examples, metaphors, and other strategies to directly address the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in computer science. Finally, while we are still developing the CRPG-CSCT, cogens provided us with the opportunity to ensure the voices of teachers and students are well represented in and central to the document. 

   more » « less
5. “Show Them the Playbook That These Companies Are Using”: Youth Voices about Why Computer Science Education Must Center Discussions of Power, Ethics, and Culturally Responsive Computing

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3660645  

   Ryoo, Jean J; Blunt, Takeria (September 2024, ACM Transactions on Computing Education)

   Culturally responsive computing (CRC), that centers sociopolitical issues and transformational uses of technology, has been described as valuable for increasing engagement with computing, especially for historically underrepresented minoritized students. But what do high school students think? Through a sociocultural lens prioritizing student voices recorded in 56 interviews over a period of 2 years (1–3 years after students’ first experience with computer science (CS) education through Exploring Computer Science or Advanced Placement CS Principles in high school), this study centers the perspectives of 39 primarily low-income, Latine and Black youth from urban California and rural Mississippi public schools to understand what they perceive as the role of technology in our world and what they subsequently desire of their computing education. While none have studied CRC before, the majority responded with CRC ideas about the kind of pedagogy they believe would make for a more meaningful computing learning experience: They see computing as a form of power that impacts both good and bad in the world and want computing educators to prepare them to take on these issues of equity, ethics, social responsibility, and underrepresentation in the field. The students’ perspectives offer important pedagogical insight into how to support deeper engagement with computing in current CS for All initiatives, while also preparing youth for the rapidly evolving and increasingly complex computing landscape that impacts all of our lives. 

   more » « less