Into the Community: Changing Perceptions and Increasing Participation in Computer Science

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This project awards scholarships based on student financial need and demonstrated interest in pursuing a major in computer science or a minor in computer science together with a major in another science field. The scholars receive special mentoring by faculty about choices of careers in computer science. They become part of a community of students in the sciences specializing in IT: 1) by being part of a peer tutoring program for computer science courses; 2) by presenting to other students what they learned from an experiential learning activity, in the form of an internship in industry or computing research with faculty, 3) by investigating possible IT careers through attendance at career panels featuring alumni working in industry and non-profits and additional industry representatives; 4) by attending computer science conferences such as the ACM's Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing or the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in computing; and 5) by participating in a K-12 outreach program where undergraduates develop "road shows" of demonstrations appropriate for middle or high-school age students in an effort to show that computer science can be fun, and a career in IT can be interesting and benefit society. Intellectual merit: The activities that the scholars undertake as part of their undergraduate experience have been suggested by previous studies that examined the small participation of women and underrepresented groups in computer science and by studies of the lack of student interest in computer science as a field of study. Experiential learning activities increase and sustain their interest in computer science. The faculty mentoring, peer support groups, and electronic mentoring illustrate to students that computer science is a profession they can pursue or that they can effectively use computers in other scientific endeavors of their choosing. Broader Impacts: Women and students of underrepresented groups are encouraged to join the scholarship program and participate in the activities provided by the Mathematics and Computer Science Department. The project activities make these students feel welcome and confident that they can pursue a career that involves information technology. An added long-term benefit is that the K-12 students who participate in the outreach activities led by the scholars have a change in attitude about computing and see it as a fun and interesting field to consider in college.