Broadening participation in computing through interventions to overcome cultural and pedagogical barriers

Isenegger, Kathleen

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129425 Copy

Description

Title

Broadening participation in computing through interventions to overcome cultural and pedagogical barriers

Author(s)

Isenegger, Kathleen

Issue Date

2025-04-23

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Lewis, Colleen

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Lewis, Colleen

Committee Member(s)

• Zilles, Craig
• Cunningham, Kathryn
• Edwards, John

Department of Study

Siebel School Comp & Data Sci

Discipline

Computer Science

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• broadening participation in computing
• goal-congruity theory
• communal goals
• syntax exercises
• introductory CS

Abstract

My work investigates cultural and pedagogical barriers to broadening participation in computing (BPC). BPC efforts seek to rectify the underrepresentation in computer science (CS) of people who identify as women, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latine, Native American/Indigenous, and/or disabled. Prior work has identified both cultural and pedagogical barriers to BPC and has suggested interventions to overcome those barriers. In this dissertation I consider two specific barriers to BPC. The first, a cultural barrier, is illuminated by Goal-Congruity Theory. This theory explains that students desire an alignment between their personal goals and the goals they perceive to be afforded to them by their future career. This is particularly salient to recruitment and retention efforts in CS because prior work has shown that STEM fields are perceived by students to not afford communal goals (i.e., goals of helping society). This perception of CS is a cultural barrier to BPC because students from groups underrepresented in computing are more likely to endorse communal goals than their peers. The second barrier I consider, a pedagogical barrier, is that current pedagogy may not meet the needs of all students learning programming syntax in introductory computing courses. Ineffective syntax instruction is a pedagogical barrier to BPC because learning syntax may be additionally challenging for students without high school CS experience (which is more likely to include students from groups underrepresented in CS). My first study investigated how students’ endorsement of communal goals varied by gender within racial/ethnic communities. I analyzed data from over 45,000 undergraduate students and found that women endorsed communal goals more than men in all studied racial/ethnic communities with the exception of Native students. I also found that students’ sense of belonging in CS can be predicted by their communal-goal endorsement and their perceptions of the communal affordances of CS. Together, these two findings provide empirical evidence for goal-congruity theory. This suggests that changing students’ perceptions of CS so they perceive it to be more communal could be helpful for BPC. My second study investigated the impacts of an intervention to increase students’ perceptions of the communal affordances of computing. I conducted a randomized controlled trial with 144 students to test the impacts of an intervention. I designed the intervention based on another intervention that increased students communal affordances of a different STEM field. I did not find that this intervention had any impact on students’ perceptions, potentially implying that students’ perceptions of CS are less malleable than their perceptions of other science fields. Finally, my third study investigated the impacts of syntax exercises — a pedagogical intervention to teach students programming syntax in introductory CS. I conducted a randomized controlled trial in an introductory CS course. Students in the treatment group completed a weekly set of syntax exercises, while the students in the control group did weekly practice programming problems. I did not find that syntax exercises had an impact on students’ performance or attitudes towards CS. My findings may imply that syntax exercises are only helpful to students in certain contexts or when certain design choices are made. My research is aimed at increasing our capacity to broaden participation in computing through effective interventions that can overcome cultural and pedagogical barriers. My research provides insights into two specific barriers to BPC and the impacts of suggested interventions to ameliorate them. My work helps inform best practices for implementing these interventions by revealing contexts in which they were not effective. Illuminating the potential challenges of implementing interventions aimed at BPC can inform future work to better understand the benefits and limitations of such interventions.

Graduation Semester

2025-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129425

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Kathleen Isenegger

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