An evalution of the efficacy of seminars in retaining and recruiting computer science majors (original) (raw)
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ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 2009
This paper describes an exploratory study to identify which environmental and student factors best predict intention to persist in the computer science major. The findings can be used to make decisions about initiatives for increasing retention. Eight indices of student characteristics and perceptions were developed using the research-based Student Experience of the Major Survey: student-student interaction; student-faculty interaction; collaborative learning opportunities; pace/workload/prior experience with programming; teaching assistants; classroom climate/pedagogy; meaningful assignments; and racism/sexism. A linear regression revealed that student-student interaction was the most powerful predictor of students' intention to persist in the major beyond the introductory course. Other factors predicting intention to persist were pace/workload/prior experience and male gender. The findings suggest that computer science departments interested in increasing retention of students set structured expectations for student-student interaction in ways that integrate peer involvement as a mainstream activity rather than making it optional or extracurricular. They also suggest departments find ways to manage programming experience gaps in CS1.
Traditional introductory computer science (CS) courses have had little success engaging non-computer science majors. At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, where introductory CS courses are a requirement for CS majors and nonmajors alike, two tailored introductory courses were introduced as an alternative to the traditional course. The results were encouraging: more nonmajors succeeded (completed and passed) in tailored courses than in the traditional course, students expressed fewer negative reactions to the course content, and many reported that they would be interested in taking another tailored CS course. The authors present findings from a pilot study of the three courses and briefly discuss some of the issues surrounding the tailored courses for nonmajors: programming, context, choice of language, and classroom culture.
ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 2009
This paper presents a methodology for increasing undergraduate Computer Science (CS) major enrollment at comprehensive public universities, particularly those that have first generation college students or students from underrepresented populations in professional computer science in the United States. While there has been significant prior discussion of undergraduate recruiting to increase major enrollment in CS, this is the first identification of a systematic approach to recruiting distinct undergraduate student populations into the CS major. Nationally, highly selective and selective universities and colleges have worked within their student populations to increase major enrollments, while CS departments at comprehensive public universities primarily focused on regional recruiting have also worked to identify and increase CS major enrollments. The approach outlined here addresses regional recruiting for undergraduate majors in CS and has been used at two public universities. The resulting methodology serves as a template for any department or faculty member seeking to increase undergraduate enrollment in CS.
Inspire DEC Student Conference, 2013
There has been a noticeable drop in enrolments in Computer Science (CS) courses and interest in CS careers in recent years while demand for CS skills is increasing dramatically. Not only are such skills useful for CS jobs but for all forms of business and to some extent personal lives as Information Technology (IT) is becoming ubiquitous and essential for most aspects of modern life. Therefore it is essential to address this lack of interest and skills to not only fill the demand for CS employees but to provide students with the CS skills they need for modern life especially for improving their employability and skills for further study. This report looks at possible reasons for the lack of interest in CS and different approaches used to enhance CS education and improve the appeal of CS.
Proceedings of the 45th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education, 2014
In line with institutions across the United States, the Computer Science Department at Swarthmore College has faced the challenge of maintaining a demographic composition of students that matches the student body as a whole. To combat this trend, our department has made a concerted effort to revamp our introductory course sequence to both attract and retain more women and minority students. The focus of this paper is the changes instituted in our Introduction to Computer Science course (i.e., CS1) intended for both majors and non-majors. In addition to changing the content of the course, we introduced a new student mentoring program that is managed by a full-time coordinator and consists of undergraduate students who have recently completed the course. This paper describes these efforts in detail, including the extension of these changes to our CS2 course and the associated costs required to maintain these efforts. We measure the impact of these changes by tracking student enrollment and performance over 13 academic years. We show that, unlike national trends, enrollment from underrepresented groups has increased dramatically over this time period. Additionally, we show that the student mentoring program has increased both performance and retention of students, particularly from underrepresented groups, at statistically significant levels.
Promoting Computer Science programmes to potential students: 10 Myths for Computer Science
Proceedings of the 3rd Informatics Education Europe, 2008
Admittedly, admissions in Computer Science (CS) or related programmes in Higher Education (HE) have dropped significantly over the last five years all over the world [1, 2]. Although there has been considerable investigation for the reasons that lead to this decrease [3, 4], and some of the results reported are intuitive, it is not always justifiable why potential HE students do not have CS anymore among their first choices. There is a number of corrective actions that Universities and in particular CS Departments took or are ...
Encouragement May Be the Missing Link in the Pursuit of CS / IT Majors
Few students in general, and fewer female students in particular, choose an undergraduate major in IT/CS. Efforts at ameliorating the situation must be rooted in an understanding of those factors which have a demonstrated influence on major/career choice and decision making. In an attempt to improve our understanding, we surveyed students enrolled in IT105/155, a mandatory freshman computer science course. Our findings showed that male and female students did not differ from each other in terms of their grades, self-efficacy, need for encouragement, and perceptions about the major. These findings held whether students were taught by male or female instructors. Our survey results indicated that there are three major influences on a freshman's consideration on majoring in IT/CS: receiving more encouragement to major in the field; self-efficacy after completing IT105/155; and interest in taking an IT/CS course consisting of a majority of students the same sex as themselves. These s...
Exploring Factors Influencing the Continued Interest in a Computer Science Major
2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, where she also completed her master's degree in Higher Education. She is the graduate assistant for the Rising Sophomore Abroad Program, a global engineering course and study abroad program for first year engineering students. Her primary research interests are engineering study abroad, developing intercultural competency in engineering students, and international higher education.
International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology (IJERT), 2021
https://www.ijert.org/the-relationship-between-computer-science-instructional-practices-and-retention-a-multi-level-study https://www.ijert.org/research/the-relationship-between-computer-science-instructional-practices-and-retention-a-multi-level-study-IJERTV10IS070084.pdf Many computer science (CS) departments want to increase student retention in their courses. Understanding the factors that influence the probability of students continuing to enroll in CS courses is a critical step in increasing retention. Prior research on CS retention has mainly focused on variables like prior programming experience and students' personality traits, all of which are outside the control of undergraduate instructors. This research looks at factors that are under the influence of teachers, specifically instructional practices that have a direct effect on students' classroom experiences. Over the course of four semesters, participants were recruited from 25 parts of 14 different courses.Although adjusting for students' mastery of CS concepts and status as a CS major, a multi-level model was used to assess the effects of individual and class-average perceptions of cooperative learning and instructor directedness on the likelihood of subsequent enrollment in a CS course. The average rating of cooperative learning within a course segment was negatively correlated with retention, according to the findings. Students' individual impressions of instructional activities were not associated with retention. Greater mastery of CS concepts and considering or having declared a CS major were linked to a higher likelihood of taking potential CS courses, which is consistent with previous study.The findings' implications are explored.