Student Perceptions of Their Abilities and Learning Environment in Large Introductory Computer Programming Courses
Laura K. Alford, Mary Lou Dorf, Valeria Bertacco · 2018
Over the past 30 years, women completing computer science and computer engineering undergraduate degrees have been a minority compared to their male counterparts.We chose three obstacles to gender diversity in computer science and computer engineering that we wished to lessen the effects of: stereotyped traits, perceived abilities, and learning environment.Identifying implicit bias as a component of these obstacles, we implemented a series of activities designed to lessen the impact of implicit bias on our students.Alongside discussing implicit bias with our students, we wished to gather current information on students' perceptions of their own abilities and the overall learning environment in introductory programming courses.This information would then be used to guide future course development and other possible interventions.Entry and exit surveys were administered to students in two different large-enrollment (∼700 students/semester) intro to computer programming courses at a large, midwestern research university.Course 1A is for first-year engineering students only; Course 1B is open to all students in the university.The surveys were also administered to students in the follow-up computer programming course (designated here as Course 2 and consisting of mostly first-and second-year engineering students) to see if there were any changes in student perceptions after taking two programming courses.This paper reports the results and analysis of these surveys.Overall, the differences in perceived abilities and learning environment between women and men were not as large as we had feared at the beginning of this study.This may indicate that our efforts to combat implicit bias were partially successful, although since we do not have pre-implicit bias activity data, we cannot be certain.While there is definite room for improvement in our classes, it is encouraging to note that the women's responses are somewhat similar to the men's responses.These introductory programming courses are some of the largest engineering classes offered at this institution; therefore, an improved understanding of student experiences in these classes will provide guidance on creating and sustaining a welcoming environment for all students.