Leveling the Field: Increasing the Preparedness and Belonging of Underrepresented Community College Students in Computing

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With support from the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR), this project aims to serve the national interest by recruiting community college students to and preparing them for success in computer science. The project aims to achieve this goal by providing students at Los Positas Community College (California) with a week-long, pre-semester computer science workshop called "Code Jam." The Code Jam workshop is modeled on a semester-long computer science program at Siena College, a private four-year institution, and a week-long math workshop at Los Positas Community College. Like Math Jam, Code Jam will be a week-long, full-day, pre-semester hands-on program that is enhanced with intentional personal and social supports. The intention is to create an engaging environment that welcomes students into computer science, even if they have no prior experience with computational thinking and computer programming. The project expects that students who participate in Code Jam will be more likely to enroll in introductory computer science classes. This effort addresses the critical need for U.S. workers to understand computing fundamentals, given the pervasiveness of technology and the rising number of jobs requiring technical knowledge. The project has two objectives. First, it seeks to create a computer science entry program specifically designed for success in a community college setting. Second, it endeavors to create a program that can be implemented at colleges across the Nation. The project has the potential to attract and prepare students who would not otherwise consider pursuing computing or who would struggle to succeed in introductory computer science classes. Based on this potential outcome, together with student demographics at Las Positas Community College (a Hispanic-Serving Institution), this project has the potential to broaden participation in computer science. Using a social cognitive career theory framework, the project will conduct a mixed-methods longitudinal research study. This study will investigate the mechanisms by which personal characteristics, background contexts, and learning experiences coalesce to give messages about which career-related choices are possible and appropriate for community college students of varying social categories. The project aims to examine the role of the workshop in supporting student success in introductory computing classes as well as its impact on affective factors such as interest, confidence, and identification with computing. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.