Summary:

Young Women Growing Up Thinking Computationally (YO-GUTC) is a program aimed at developing a model to sustain engagement and preparation in computing of K-12 women over time. The program is the evolution of a successful broadening participation in computing program: the Young Women in Computing (YWiC) program at New Mexico State University (NMSU). YO-GUTC developed over a 4-year period, composed of after-school meetings, summer workshops, and community celebrations of young women in computing in the Las Cruces area, New Mexico. YO-GUTC posed research questions related to the underrepresentation of Hispanic women in computing, and investigate interventions to increase and sustain their interest and participation. The demographics of New Mexico allowed NMSU to develop a deeper understanding of the issues specific to expanding Latina participation in CS.

Intellectual Merit:

The literature, and our own work, has investigated methodologies and best practices to inspire (initial) engagement of Latina students in computing. Unfortunately, the engagement, while necessary, does not address the larger issue of sustained participation, unless linked to a continuing process of skills development and preparation; this is critical if the engagement appears early in the academic pipeline, due to the institutional gaps in computing curricula. YO-GUTC’s three primary strategies are to: (1) engage, prepare and retain young women in computing, especially of Hispanic background, through exciting learning experiences (via projects in areas of community relevance) that address the preparation gap in computing between young women and men; (2) foster growth of social capital through support systems; and (3) raise women’s aspirations in computing beyond initial engagement and towards computing degrees and careers. We seek to advance young women’s computing skills to a level beyond that of their male peers, building confidence, self-efficacy and respect. Regular academic-year club meetings and community CS celebrations will engage participants in rich computational projects, expose them to Hispanic women in computing fields, and build community support for participants’ endeavors in computing. During two-week girls-only summer workshops, participants will investigate topics of local and cultural relevance, view them through the lens of computational modeling, and analyze them using agent-based tools.

Building on the strengths of YWiC, YO-GUTC designed, implemented and evaluated instructional materials for club meetings and summer workshops, developed a social network, and studied whether addressing the preparation gap, building community and online support systems, and aligning computing with Hispanic cultural values, can sustain young women’s participation and interest in computing. The novelty of YO-GUTC lies in the design of a culturally grounded intervention, where strong training in computing is combined with the creation of a support and nurturing community of peers and family, to sustain and grow both preparation in computing and engagement in the field.

YO-GUTC engaged social scientists to develop and implement research questions and assessment methodologies, to contribute to the body of knowledge concerning sustained engagement and retention of women and Hispanic students in computing. The evaluative research is aimed at determining whether advanced CS preparation, to negate the CS preparation gap, building of a group identity, engendering community support, and raising aspirations are sufficient to sustain participants’ interest and continuation in computing.

The project provided parallel investigation tracks for middle school and high school students. In both cases, groups of students participated in a combination of summer camps, after-school project-based teamwork, and community celebrations. Sustained engagement and increased learning was measured by performing comparative analysis of performance and interest of new student groups versus returning students. The program engaged 4 cohorts of summer camp students: 109 high school women (40% White, 50% Hispanic, 7% African American, 3% Native American) and 132 middle school women (33% White, 52% Hispanic, 4% African American, 9% Asian, 2% Native American). Of the students who graduated from high school, about 50% entered academic degree programs related to computing, and over 63% opted for STEM-related degree programs. 100% of the graduating high school students pursued college studies.

Broader Impacts:

The investigation has demonstrated that the combinate of building social capital, embedded learning in socially relevant applications, and the reinforcement through community events, social interactions, and after-school projects are effective in growing interest and preparation in computing.

YO-GUTC serves as a model to retain young women’s interest and support their achievements in computing through high school. The model is being disseminated to other communities with a similar population, in collaboration with the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions INCLUDES Alliance – e.g., the model is currently being piloted in one community college and a second Hispanic Serving institution.

Last Modified: 02/21/2019
Modified by: Enrico Pontelli