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Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions Of The Impact Of Pre-College Computing Activities On Choices Of Major, Monica M. Mcgill, Adrienne Decker, Amber Settle
Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions Of The Impact Of Pre-College Computing Activities On Choices Of Major, Monica M. Mcgill, Adrienne Decker, Amber Settle
Amber Settle
A lack of diversity in the computing field has existed for several decades, and although female participation in computing remains low, outreach programs attempting to address the situation are now quite numerous. To begin to understand whether or not these past activities have had long-term impact, we conducted a systematic literature review. Upon discovering that longitudinal studies were lacking, we investigated whether undergraduate students believed that their participation in computing activities prior to college contributed to their decision to major in a computing field. From the 770 participants in the study, we discovered that approximately 20% of males and 24% …
Improving Retention And Reducing Isolation Via A Linked-Courses Learning Community, Amber Settle, Theresa Steinbach
Improving Retention And Reducing Isolation Via A Linked-Courses Learning Community, Amber Settle, Theresa Steinbach
Amber Settle
Despite a rebound in enrollments, men of color and women remain underrepresented in computing. The literature indicates that student-student interaction, affinity for the computing major, and reduced feelings of isolation are important for retention of underrepresented groups in computing. Learning communities connect students with each other and faculty to improve collaboration, interaction, and enthusiasm. In an effort to improve retention of female and minority students at our institution, we have created two cohorts of a linked-courses learning community for development majors. Here we report on the academic performance and retention for the first cohort and on the impact of the …