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1. 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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2. 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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3. Computing Specializations: Perceptions of AI and Cybersecurity Among CS Students

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3545945.3569782  

   Ojha, Vidushi; Perdriau, Christopher; Lagesse, Brent; Lewis, Colleen M. (March 2023, Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education)

   Artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity are in-demand skills, but little is known about what factors influence computer science (CS) undergraduate students' decisions on whether to specialize in AI or cybersecurity and how these factors may differ between populations. In this study, we interviewed undergraduate CS majors about their perceptions of AI and cybersecurity. Qualitative analyses of these interviews show that students have narrow beliefs about what kind of work AI and cybersecurity entail, the kinds of people who work in these fields, and the potential societal impact AI and cybersecurity may have. Specifically, students tended to believe that all work in AI requires math and training models, while cybersecurity consists of low-level programming; that innately smart people work in both fields; that working in AI comes with ethical concerns; and that cybersecurity skills are important in contemporary society. Some of these perceptions reinforce existing stereotypes about computing and may disproportionately affect the participation of students from groups historically underrepresented in computing. Our key contribution is identifying beliefs that students expressed about AI and cybersecurity that may affect their interest in pursuing the two fields and may, therefore, inform efforts to expand students' views of AI and cybersecurity. Expanding student perceptions of AI and cybersecurity may help correct misconceptions and challenge narrow definitions, which in turn can encourage participation in these fields from all students. 

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4. Assessing Creativity in a Technology Outreach Service-Learning Course

   Robertson, Cindy; Doloc-Mihu, Anca; Gunay, Cengiz; Jin, Wei (March 2025, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE))

   Creativity has been shown to improve student learning and retention and is also one of the top skills wanted by employers in computing. However, it is seldom a clear component for most computing courses and is difficult to measure as a course outcome. This paper describes a course specifically designed for student retention with creativity as the central component, and a research study that investigated students’ perspectives on what creativity is, how it pertains to them based on a set of twelve traits, and how this course has impacted their creativity. Students indicated that this course was the most creative course that they have taken and our data shows that it influenced their self-reported creativity. Out of the traits we provided, open-minded and curious were the two selected by our students as top characteristics of creativity. We discuss our observations from this study and provide a qualitative analysis. 

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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. 

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