Analysis of a Simple, Low-cost Intervention's Impact on Retention of Women in Computer Science

分析简单、低成本的干预措施对计算机科学领域女性保留的影响

• 批准号: 2021330
• 负责人: Bita Akram
• 金额: $ 17.49万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-07-01 至 2023-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2021330&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Analysis; Simple; Low; cost; Intervention

This project aims to serve the national interest in high-quality STEM education by studying an intervention designed to improve persistence of women in computer science. Engaging all people in learning about STEM, particularly computer science, is important for innovation, global competitiveness, and preparation for future careers that increasingly rely on computing. Women occupy just 28% of STEM jobs and account for only 17% of computer science majors and 21% of engineering majors. These differences in career choices arise partially from gender differences in self-assessment of STEM ability. This project will test whether educational institutions can use a simple intervention to increase the persistence of women in computer science. This intervention consists of email messages to students in introductory computer science courses. The messages contain contextual information about the student’s performance in class and encouragement regarding their effort and potential. For example, a message might reveal that the student is a top performer in the course and suggest that the student should explore getting involved in undergraduate computer science research. A pilot study found that changing the wording of a single email could increase women's intentions to stay in computer science by 18%. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on a larger scale, and determine how to maximize its efficacy. If successful, the project will provide educational institutions with a simple, easily implemented tool to increase the number of women in computer science fields. This intervention could have positive effects on other groups that face negative stereotypes about their intellectual capacity and ability to succeed in computer sciences, and might be applicable to other STEM disciplines, as well. This project will use both a field experiment and an online experiment to test the intervention. The field experiment will be conducted across all the introductory computer science courses at a large research-based university. Multivariate analysis will be conducted to determine both the immediate and longitudinal effects of the intervention on self-assessed computer science ability and on persistence in computer science. Qualitative interviews will be conducted with some students in the field experiment to obtain nuanced data about students’ experience with the intervention. The online experiment will use short programming activities and will explore which pieces of contextual information are most effective. This knowledge will be critical for crafting efficient messages that can be used at scale, and for determining methods (other than emails) through which institutions can boost students’ self-assessment and persistence in computer science. Mediation analyses will be used in both the field and online experiments to illuminate the process through which the intervention impacts self-assessed computer science ability, and in turn, persistence. This research is expected to contribute to theoretical and practical knowledge of how institutions can intervene to promote gender equity and to increase knowledge about the social-psychological processes around self-assessments of ability and career choice that reproduce existing gender inequalities. This project is supported by the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources Program, which 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.

该项目旨在通过研究旨在改善妇女在计算机科学领域的持久性的干预措施来为国家对高质量STEM教育的利益。吸引所有人学习STEM，尤其是计算机科学，对于创新，全球竞争力和为越来越依赖计算的未来职业做准备至关重要。妇女仅占STEM工作的28％，仅占计算机科学专业的17％和工程专业的21％。这些职业选择的这些差异部分来自于STEM能力自我评估的性别差异。该项目将测试教育机构是否可以使用简单的干预措施来增加计算机科学中女性的持久性。此干预措施包括给学生在简介计算机科学课程中向学生发送电子邮件。这些消息包含有关学生在课堂上表现的上下文信息，以及有关他们的努力和潜力的鼓励。例如，一条消息可能会揭示学生是该课程中表现最好的人，并建议学生应探索参与本科计算机科学研究的参与。一项试点研究发现，更改单个电子邮件的措辞可能会使女性在计算机科学中保持18％的意图。该项目旨在评估大规模干预措施的有效性，并确定如何最大化其有效性。如果成功，该项目将为教育机构提供一种简单，易于实施的工具，以增加计算机科学领域的女性数量。这种干预措施可能会对其他群体产生积极的影响，这些群体对其智力能力和在计算机科学中取得成功的能力面临负面刻板印象，并且也可能适用于其他STEM学科。该项目将同时使用现场实验和在线实验来测试干预措施。现场实验将在一所大型研究大学的所有入门计算机科学课程中进行。将进行多变量分析，以确定干预对自我评估的计算机科学能力以及计算机科学持久性的直接和纵向影响。定性访谈将对现场实验中的一些学生进行，以获取有关学生在干预方面的经验的细微数据。在线实验将使用简短的编程活动，并将探讨哪些上下文信息最有效。这些知识对于可以大规模使用的有效消息以及确定机构可以促进学生在计算机科学中的自我评估和持久性的方法（除电子邮件）至关重要。调解分析将在现场和在线实验中使用，以阐明干预措施影响自我评估的计算机科学能力并持续存在的过程。预计这项研究将有助于理论和实践知识，了解制度如何干预以促进性别平等，并增加对能力和职业选择自我评估的社会心理过程的知识，从而再现现有性别不平等。该项目得到了NSF改善本科STEM教育计划：教育和人力资源计划的支持，该计划支持研发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与的学生学习轨道，该计划支持了承诺实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估审查标准，被认为是珍贵的支持。