Experiences that Shape Undergraduate Computing Trajectories: A Equity-Focused Longitudinal Study at Center for Inclusive Computing Institutions

加州大学洛杉矶分校的“势头：加速计算机和技术公平”研究项目将开展一项研究，以产生能够指导各院系在计算机领域招聘和保留决策的知识，特别是在确保历史上少数族裔学生的公平结构和机会方面。在回应对训练有素的计算机科学家的劳动力需求的同时，本科计算机课程也越来越注重培养女性和有色人种学生（特别是黑人或非裔美国人、西班牙裔或拉丁裔、美洲原住民、夏威夷原住民或太平洋岛民）的参与机会。随着美国高校在冠状病毒大流行期间和之后面临着艰难的运营之路，解决本科计算机部门公平问题的紧迫性比以往任何时候都更加突出。本研究将提供及时的数据，可以为当前背景下计算机专业本科生的招聘和保留工作提供信息。动量团队将与东北大学包容性计算中心（CIC）合作，调查2021年春季在大约20所高校注册计算机课程的一年级和二年级学生。这项调查将询问各种各样的问题，从学生的背景和大学前的经历到他们在2020-21学年的计算机体验。然后，他们将在2023年春季再次对这些学生进行调查，以评估他们在计算机方面的经历是如何变化的，以及这些经历在塑造他们未来计划中的作用。项目团队将分析这些数据，以了解塑造学生在计算机领域发展轨迹的具体经历，特别是女性和历史上少数群体学生的发展道路。这项研究的结果将在计算机和高等教育界广泛传播，以告知招聘和留住计算机专业学生并最终进入计算机职业的最佳做法。加州大学洛杉矶分校的动量研究项目将对在东北大学包容性计算中心（CIC）参与的机构注册计算机课程的一年级和二年级学生进行纵向研究。这项研究代表了Momentum和CIC之间的合作关系，旨在研究促进计算机行业招聘和保留的大学经历，尤其是对有色人种女性等计算机行业边缘化学生的招聘和保留。利用动量员工的专业知识和调查工具来解决我们在知识方面的主要差距，项目团队将首先对在CIC机构注册计算机课程的一年级和二年级学生进行基线调查。这项调查（于2021年春季进行）将关注各种因素，从学生的背景特征和大学前的经历到他们向大学的过渡以及他们在计算机方面的第一年经历。然后，两年后，在学生上大学的第三或第四年，项目团队将进行一次后续调查。后续调查将重点关注影响学生计算机发展轨迹的具体经历，包括课程经历、与导师/教师的互动以及课外计算机经历（例如，参与计算机组织、本科研究、与计算机相关的实习）。这项调查还将关注学生的长期计划，比如攻读研究生或从事计算机方面的职业。这项研究将有助于在几个方面扩大计算机参与的知识。首先，它将为学者、管理人员和政策制定者提供见解，让他们了解在大学一年级和二年级学习计算机课程的学生如何与计算机系互动，以及这种互动如何不同地塑造不同性别和/或种族/民族学生的轨迹。此外，纵向跟踪这些学生将使我们能够了解这些学生的经历和观念如何随着时间的推移而变化，以及研究各种计算环境和结果所起的长期作用。总的来说，这项研究的目的是建立在现有文献的基础上，关于什么能促进计算机专业学生的理想结果，并提供更多关于某些经验如何以及为什么有效（或不有效）的数据，从而为设计干预措施以促进扩大计算机参与努力的利益相关者提供可操作的发现。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Momentum: Accelerating Equity in Computing and Technology research program at the University of California, Los Angeles will conduct a study to produce knowledge that can guide departments’ decisions about recruitment and retention in computing, especially with regard to ensuring equitable structures and opportunities for students who have been historically minoritized. While responding to workforce demands for trained computer scientists, undergraduate computing programs are also increasing their focus on cultivating opportunities for participation among women and students of color (specifically, students who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander). The urgent need to address equity issues in undergraduate computing departments is more salient now than ever before, as U.S. colleges and universities currently face a turbulent road to navigate operations amid and after the coronavirus pandemic. This study will provide timely data that can inform undergraduate computing’s recruitment and retention efforts in the current contexts. In collaboration with Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing (CIC), the Momentum team will survey first- and second-year students who enroll in computing courses at approximately 20 colleges and universities in the spring of 2021. This survey will ask a variety of questions ranging from students’ backgrounds and precollege experiences to their computing experiences in the 2020-21 academic year. Then, they will survey these students again in the spring of 2023 to assess how their experiences with computing have changed and the role these experiences play in shaping their future plans. The project team will analyze these data to understand the specific experiences that shape students’ trajectories in computing, especially the pathways of women and students from historically minoritized groups. The findings from this study will be disseminated widely within the computing and higher education community to inform best practices to recruit and retain students in computing majors and ultimately into computing careers.The Momentum research program at the University of California, Los Angeles will conduct a longitudinal study of first- and second-year students who enroll in computing courses at institutions involved in Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing (CIC). The research represents a partnership between Momentum and CIC to engage in research on collegiate experiences that promote recruitment and retention in computing, particularly for marginalized students in computing such as women of color. Leveraging Momentum staff expertise and survey instruments to address key gaps in our knowledge, the project team will first administer a baseline survey to first- and second-year students enrolled in computing courses at CIC institutions. This survey (administered in spring 2021) will focus on a variety of factors, ranging from students’ background characteristics and pre-college experiences to their transition to college and their first-year experiences in computing. Then, two years later, in students’ third or fourth year in college, the project team will administer a follow-up survey. The follow-up survey will focus on the specific experiences known to shape students’ trajectories in computing, including course experiences, interactions with instructors/faculty, and extracurricular computing experiences (e.g., involvement in computing organizations, undergraduate research, computing-related internships). This survey will also focus on students’ longer-term plans, such as pursuing graduate school or careers in computing. This study will contribute to knowledge about broadening participation in computing in several ways. First, it will provide insights to scholars, administrators, and policymakers about how students who take computing courses in the first- and second- year of college may engage with the computing department and how this engagement may differentially shape the trajectories of students from various gender and/or racial/ethnic groups. Additionally, following up with these students longitudinally will enable us to learn how these students’ experiences and perceptions change over-time, as well as to study the longer-term role played by a variety of computing environments and outcomes. Overall, this study aims to build on existing literature about what works to promote desirable outcomes for computing students and provide more data on how and why certain experiences work (or do not work), thereby providing actionable findings to stakeholders designing interventions to promote broadening participation efforts in computing.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.