Teacher and Student Experiences in a Gender-Inclusive Secondary Computer Science Program
Keywords:
K-12; Computer Science Education; Broadening Participation; GenderAbstract
A significant gender gap continues to exist within computer science (CS) education, despite a nationwide emphasis in the U.S. on increasing CS education equity and access. To explore this issue, we conducted an ethnographic case study within a classroom at Forest View High School (FVHS, pseudonym) where girls’ participation in CS was consistently higher than state averages over 12 years. We sought to understand teacher and student experiences within this gender-inclusive program. Data were collected over three months through observations, interviews, course documents, and reflections. Results indicate three strategies for supporting a more gender-inclusive classroom: (1) Providing personalized and relevant learning experiences; (2) modeling a growth mindset; and (3) creating a welcoming environment. Implications for practice include providing assignment choice, providing opportunities to learn from failure, and building personal relationships with students. Overall, teachers can act as agents of social change within the CS classroom, and play an essential, central role in broadening participation and equity initiatives. However, this work must also be supported by administrators, counselors, and other school stakeholders to be effective for enacting change.
Downloads
References
Blikstein, P, & Moghadam, S. H. (2019). Computing Education. In S. Fincher & A. V. Robins
(Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Computing Education Research (1st ed., pp. 56 – 78). Cambridge University Press.
Boulden, D. C., Wiebe, E., Akram, B., Aksit, O., Buffum, P. S., Mott, B., Boyer, K. E., & Lester,
J. (2018). Computational Thinking Integration into Middle Grades Science Classrooms: Strategies for Meeting the Challenges. Middle Grades Review, 4(3).
Cheryan, S., Master, A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2015). Cultural stereotypes as gatekeepers:
Increasing girls’ interest in computer science and engineering by diversifying stereotypes. Frontiers in psychology, 6(49), 1-8. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00049
Code.org, CSTA, & ECEP Alliance (2022). 2022 State of Computer Science Education:
Understanding Our National Imperative. Retrieved from
https://advocacy.code.org/stateofcs
Code.org, CSTA, & ECEP Alliance. (2021). 2021 State of computer science education:
Accelerating action through advocacy. Retrieved from https://advocacy.code.org/stateofcs
Code.org, CSTA, & ECEP Alliance. (2020). 2020 State of Computer Science Education:
Illuminating Disparities. Retrieved from https://advocacy.code.org/stateofcs
Cutts, Q., Cutts, E., Draper, S., O'Donnell, P., & Saffrey, P. (2010, March). Manipulating
mindset to positively influence introductory programming performance. In Proceedings of the 41st ACM technical symposium on Computer science education (pp. 431-435). ACM. doi: 10.1145/1734263.1734409
DuBow, W. M., Quinn, B. A., Townsend, G. C., Robinson, R., & Barr, V. (2016). Efforts to
make computer science more inclusive of women. ACM Inroads, 7(4), 74-80. doi: 10.1145/2998500
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random house.
Fram, S. M. (2013). The constant comparative analysis method outside of grounded
theory. Qualitative Report, 18, 1.
Goode, J. (2007). If you build teachers, will students come? The role of teachers in broadening
computer science learning for urban youth. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 36(1), 65-88. doi: 10.2190/2102-5G77-QL77-5506
Goode, J., & Margolis, J. (2011). Exploring computer science: A case study of school reform.
ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 11(2), 1-16. doi: 10.1145/1993069.1993076
Lachney, M. (2017). Culturally responsive computing as brokerage: Toward asset building with
education-based social movements. Learning, media and technology, 42(4), 420-439. doi: 10.1080/17439884.2016.1211679
Flanigan, A. E., Peteranetz, M. S., Shell, D. F., & Soh, L. K. (2022). Shifting Beliefs in
Computer Science: Change in CS Student Mindsets. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 22(2), 1-24. doi: 10.1177/1948550619841631
Hoffman, B., Morelli, R., & Rosato, J. (2019, February). Student engagement is key to
broadening participation in CS. In Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 1123-1129). doi: 10.1145/3287324.3287438
Jones, S. T., & Melo, N. (2020). 'Anti-blackness is no glitch' the need for critical conversations
within computer science education. XRDS: Crossroads, The ACM Magazine for Students, 27(2), 42-46. doi: 10.1145/3433134
Kapor Center (2021). Culturally responsive-sustaining CS education: A framework. https://www.kaporcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1_CRCSFramework-Report_v7_for-web-redesign-.pdf
Kwak, D., Morreale, P., Hug, S. T., Kumar, Y., Chu, J., Huang, C. Y., Li, J.J. & Wang, P. (2022,
February). Evaluation of the Use of Growth Mindset in the CS Classroom. In Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 1 (pp. 878-884). doi: 10.1145/3478431.3499365
Lather, P. (1992). Critical frames in educational research: Feminist and post-structural
perspectives. Theory into practice, 31(2), 87-99. doi: 10.1080/00405849209543529
LeCompte, M. D., Preissle, J. (1993). Ethnography and qualitative design in educational
research (2nd ed). San Diego, California: Academic Press.
Madkins, T. C., Howard, N. R., & Freed, N. (2020). Engaging equity pedagogies in computer
science learning environments. Journal of Computer Science Integration, 3(2), 1-27. doi: 10.26716/jcsi.2020.03.2.1
Margolis, J., Estrella, R., Goode, J., Holme, J. J., & Nao, K. (2017). Stuck in the shallow end:
Education, race, and computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Margolis, J., & Fisher, A. (2002). Unlocking the clubhouse: Women in computing. Cambridge,
MA: MIT press.
Margolis, J., Ryoo, J. J., Sandoval, C. D., Lee, C., Goode, J., & Chapman, G. (2012). Beyond
access: Broadening participation in high school computer science. ACM Inroads, 3(4), 72-78. doi: 10.1145/2381083.2381102
Margolis, J., & Goode, J. (2016). Ten lessons for computer science for all. ACM inroads, 7(4),
-56. doi: 10.1145/2988236
Margolis, J., Ryoo, J., & Goode, J. (2017). Seeing Myself through Someone Else's Eyes: The
Value of In-Classroom Coaching for Computer Science Teaching and Learning. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 17(2), 6. doi: 10.1145/2967616
Master, A., Cheryan, S., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2016). Computing whether she belongs: Stereotypes
undermine girls’ interest and sense of belonging in computer science. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 108(3), 424-437. doi: 10.1037/edu0000061
Nager, A. & Atkinson R.D. (2016). The Case for Improving U.S Computer Science Education.
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Report. Retrieved from: http://www2.itif.org/2016-computer-science-education.pdf?_ga=2.112327172.1275112754.1510793269-478464502.1510793269
National Center for Education Statistics [NCES]. (2018). Degrees in computer and information
sciences conferred by postsecondary institutions, by level of degree and sex of student: 1970-71 through 2017-18. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds
National Science Foundation [NSF]. (2018). Science and Engineering Indicators 2018.
Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsb20181/assets/nsb20181.pdf
National Science Foundation. (2019). Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC). Retrieved
from https://www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/
Ó Riain, S. (2009). Extending the Ethnographic Case Study. In David Byrne and Charles C.
Ragin (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Case-Based Methods. (pp. 289-306). London: Sage.
Author, 2017
Pantic, K., Clarke-Midura, J., Poole, F., Roller, J., & Allan, V. (2018). Drawing a computer
scientist: stereotypical representations or lack of awareness?. Computer Science Education, 28(3), 232-254. doi: 10.1080/08993408.2018.1533780
Saldaña, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Santo, R., Vogel, S., & Ching, D. (2019). CS for What? Diverse Visions of Computer Science
Education in Practice. New York, NY: CSforALL. Retrieved from
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_pubs/562/
Sax, L. J., Lehman, K. J., Jacobs, J. A., Kanny, M. A., Lim, G., Monje-Paulson, L., &
Zimmerman, H. B. (2016). Anatomy of an enduring gender gap: The evolution of women’s participation in computer science. The Journal of Higher Education, 88(2), 258-293. doi: 10.1080/00221546.2016.1257306
Scott, A., Martin, A., & McAlear, F. (2017). Enhancing Participation in Computer Science
among Girls of Color: An Examination of a Preparatory AP Computer Science Intervention. In Moving Students of Color from Consumers to Producers of Technology (pp. 62-84). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Seneviratne, O. (2017). Making Computer Science Attractive to High School Girls with
Computational Thinking Approaches: A Case Study. In Emerging Research, Practice, and Policy on Computational Thinking (pp. 21-32). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Shah, N., Yadav, A. Racial Justice Amidst the Dangers of Computing Creep: A Dialogue. TechTrends 67, 467–474 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-023-00835-z
Starr, C. R. (2018). “I’m Not a Science Nerd!” STEM Stereotypes, Identity, and Motivation
Among Undergraduate Women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 42(4), 489-503. doi: 10.1177/0361684318793848
Stiles, J. (2017). Broadening participation in Computer Science. Education Development Center.
Retrieved from https://www.edc.org/broadening-participation-computer-science
The White House. (2016). Computer science for all. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.
gov/blog/2016/01/30/computer-science-all
Tsan, J., Boyer, K. E., & Lynch, C. F. (2016, February). How early does the CS gender gap
emerge? A study of collaborative problem solving in 5th grade computer science. In Proceedings of the 47th ACM technical symposium on computing science education (pp. 388-393).
Vakil, S. (2018). Ethics, identity, and political vision: Toward a justice-centered approach to
equity in computer science education. Harvard Educational Review, 88(1), 26-52. doi: 10.17763/1943-5045-88.1.26
Visser, M., & Hong, H. (2016, October). Computer Science for the Community: Increasing
Equitable Opportunity for Youth Through Libraries. In European Conference on Information Literacy (pp. 469-479). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Wang, J., Hong, H., Ravitz, J., & Ivory, M. (2015, June). Gender differences in factors
influencing pursuit of computer science and related fields. In Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (pp. 117-122). ACM. doi: 10.1145/2729094.2742611
Wang, J., Hong, H., Ravitz, J., & Hejazi Moghadam, S. (2016). Landscape of k-12
computer science education in the US: Perceptions, access, and barriers. In Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (pp. 645-650). ACM. doi: 10.1145/2839509.2844628
Wagner, I. (2016). Gender and performance in computer science. ACM Transactions on
Computing Education (TOCE), 16(3), 1-16. doi: 10.1145/2920173
Wilson, B. C. (2006). Gender Differences in Types of Assignments Preferred: Implications for
Computer Science Instruction. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 34(3), 245–255. doi: 10.2190/7FLU-VKJL-86RM-5RQG
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2024 Michael Karlin, Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Yin-Chan Janet Liao
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Olgun Sadik, Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Thomas Brush, Secondary Computer Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Needs , International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools: Vol. 4 No. 1 (2020): International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools
- Kristina M. Tank, Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Tamara J. Moore, Sohheon Yang, Zarina Wafula, Jiyoung Kim, Bárbara Fagundes, Lin Chu, Investigating Sequencing as a Means to Computational Thinking in Young Children , International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools: Vol. 6 No. 3 (2024): International Journal of Computer Science Education in Schools