computing at the high school level

7182019 Computing at the High School Level

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullcomputing-at-the-high-school-level 114

Computing at the high school level Changing what teachers and students know

and believe

Ashlyn Munson a Barbara Moskal b Alka Harriger c Tonya Lauriski-Karriker b Daniel Heersink d

a Paci 1047297c Lutheran University Tacoma WA 98447 USAb Colorado School of Mines Golden CO 80401 USAc Purdue University West Lafayette IN 47907 USAd University of Zurich Switzerland

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history

Received 22 November 2010

Received in revised form

1 March 2011

Accepted 7 March 2011

Keywords

Information technology

Summer workshop

STEM assessment

K-12

a b s t r a c t

Research indicates that students often opt out of computing majors due to a lack of prior experience in

computing and a lack of knowledge of 1047297eld-based job opportunities In addition it has been found that

students respond positively to new subjects when teachers and counselors are enthusiastic and

knowledgeable about the area The summer program described here is designed to improve high school

students teachers and guidance counselors understanding of the opportunities available in computing

related 1047297elds speci1047297cally information technology through a summer enrichment experience The

hypothesis of this work is that by exposing teachers and counselors to professional development in this

1047297eld their attitudes beliefs and knowledge regarding information technology will be enhanced thus

impacting studentsrsquo attitudes (both attending the program and beyond) with respect to information

technology and their desire to pursue degrees in this area Results indicate that the design of this

summer program enhanced the knowledge and interest of high school students with respect to infor-

mation technology Teachersrsquo knowledge was also positively in1047298uenced Further re1047297nements are

necessary in the design of this program to improve the experiences of guidance counselors

2011 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

1 Introduction

As a result of declining enrollments over the past 1047297ve years in high school computer science programs there has been a decrease in the

percentage of high schools which offer introductory computer science courses (78ndash65) This lack of enrollment has further led to the

College Board cancelling the Advanced Placement Computer Science AB course (Chandler 2009) It is well documented that there is

a shortage in the number of students who select to pursue and eventually complete computing degrees at the college level and many

students who initially choose to pursue a computing related major change paths after one or two semesters of college study ( Foster 2005

NSF 2006 Patterson 2005 Reges 2006) It has been established that a lack of computing experience obtained during high school or earlier

can lead to high attrition in these majors at the college level (Barker McDowell amp Kalahar 2009 Dabbagh amp Menasce 2006 Hutchison

Follman Sumpter amp Bodner 2006 Sloan amp Troy 2008) Thus the lack of interest in computing at the high school level raises the concern

as to whether there will be a suf 1047297cient number of graduates who are trained computing professionals to1047297ll the future employment demand

in an economy that relies strongly on technology (Chandler 2009) This lack of quali1047297ed students in the computing 1047297eld can in part beattributed to studentsrsquo lack of preparation and experience at the high school level One manner to combat this issue is through the use of

summer workshops where high school students teachers and guidance counselors are exposed to computing and its career prospects This

type of program impacts some students directly while impacting a broader population of students indirectly through their teachers and

guidance counselors This paper describes such a workshop known as Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information

Technology (SPIRIT) whose framework is guided by literature indicating that programs of this nature may broaden the pipeline of students

interested in computing careers

Corresponding author Tel thorn1 253 536 5199

E-mail addresses munsonahpluedu (A Munson) bmoskalminesedu (B Moskal) harrigeapurdueedu (A Harriger)

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Computers amp Education

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e w w w e l s e v i e r c o m l o c a t e c o m p e d u

0360-1315$ ndash see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

doi101016jcompedu201103005

Computers amp Education xxx (2011) 1ndash14

Pleasecite this article in press asMunson A et al Computingat thehigh schoollevel Changing what teachers andstudentsknowand believeComputers amp Education (2011) doi101016jcompedu201103005



A concern within computing is providing high school students with computing experience before they enter college Some researchers

have argued that the reason for the decreasing number of computing majors is a lack of awareness on the part of students as to the diverse

job opportunities available in computing (Cantrell amp Ewing-Taylor 2009 Papastergiou 2008) These misconceptions have been shown to

pervade even after students have entered college and completed college level computing courses (Trytten Walden amp Rhoads 2005) Many

students are convinced that computing degrees result in desk jobs which require little or no innovation or creativity (Galpin amp Sanders

2007) Furthermore high school teachers can have a signi1047297cant impact on studentsrsquo attitudes with respect to all subjects including

computing (Barker et al 2009 Brophy Klein Portsmore amp Rogers 2008 Tillberg amp McGrath Cohoon 2005 ) Most high school teachers

including those who are trained in mathematics and science subjects which are closely aligned with computing are ill-prepared to

introduce computing topics to their students (Chumbley et al 2002 Yasar Baker Robinson-Kurpius Krause amp Roberts 2006) One

approach to addressing this issue drawn from the computing and engineering education literature is through summer workshops Such an

approach has been found to increase both studentsrsquo interests and con1047297dence in the subject (Chumbley et al 2002 Conley Ressler Lenox amp

Samples 2000 Felix amp Harris 2010 LoPresti Manikas amp Kohlbeck 2010 Pitman 2010 Rursch Luse amp Jacobson 2010 Symans 2000

Tangney Oldham Conneely Barrett amp Lawlor 2010 Tsai et al 2008)

The most common version of the summer workshop is offering professional development experiences to practicing teachers with the

secondary goal of impacting students (Conley et al 2000 Moskal et al 2007) One example of such a workshop is Project Excel a one day

teacher workshop that targeted K-12 teachers in Iowa This workshop provided instruction in science and technology and supported

teachers as they gained the con1047297dence and knowledge necessary to increase the science and technology explored in the classroom

(Chumbley et al 2002) A similar approach was used at Saint Francis University This program offered a twoweek summer workshopto high

school teachers which focused on the science disciplines This included science education and its motivation hands-on presentations and

lectures by guest speakers and lesson plan creation (Felix amp Harris 2010)

A more direct approach is to target the interests of K-12 students without the participation of teachers (Pitman 2010 Rursch et al 2010

Tangney et al 2010) A limitation of these programs is that researchers must work with cohorts of students one at a time whereas training

teachers has the potential of a multiplier effect impacting many cohorts of students over several years An example of a student centeredapproach is the Eric Pitman Annual Summer Workshop in Computational Sciences The goal of this workshop is to introduce high school

students to computer modeling and simulation by applying programming as a means of solving problems drawn from other scienti1047297c 1047297elds

(Pitman 2010) Another example designed by Symans (2000) targets only 8th grade students in Pullman WA This week long program uses

bridge design software to encourage K-12 interest in engineering In a student program developed by Tangney a two-dimensional

animation software Scratch is taught to second-level students in the UK over a three and a half day workshop ( Tangney et al 2010) The

IT-Adventures program provides yet another example onewhich is implemented after school This program seeks to increase the awareness

of high school students concerning the opportunities available in Information Technology (Rursch et al 2010)

Other programs have been designed which include both teachers and students For example the Electrical Engineering Summer

Academy in Tulsa OK was offered in 2007 and 2008 (LoPresti et al 2010) Participating teachers attended a weeklong training workshop

immediately prior to a weeklong student program Through the training the teachers gained instructional knowledge that they used to

assist the academy directors in the instruction of the student program The academy directors also worked with the participating teachers to

ensure that the workshopinformationwould be used in the participating teachersrsquo classrooms during the following academic year A similar

design was used by Cooper et al (2007ndash2010) and was offered to middle school and high school teachers and students in multiple states In

this program participating teachers attended a two-week summer workshop and provided instruction to middle school and high schoolstudents during the one-week student workshop that followed The goal of this program was to improve both teachers and students rsquo

knowledge and interests in computing

Summer workshops may help to increase high school teachersrsquo and studentsrsquo interest in computing but once students have developed

this interest efforts are also needed to sustain that interest Another known factor that in1047298uences studentsrsquo desire to pursue and persist in

computing degrees is their experiencesin introductory programming courses both at the high school and college level Students completing

introductory programming courses at the college level who have not had prior programming experience often become intimidated by their

more experienced peers leading to attrition (Barker et al 2009 Dabbagh amp Menasce 2006 Hutchison Follman Sumpter amp Bodner 2006

Sloan amp Troy 2008) A major challenge of programming is learning computing concepts simultaneously with the syntax of the programming

language (Duplantis MacGregor Klawe amp Ng 2002) It is well known that novice programmers struggle with syntax errors in their

programs and often incorrectly believe these to be errors in their logic This leads to frustration and potentially dropping the course

(Connolly Murphy amp Moore 2009 Treu amp Skinner 2002) One means of combating this early attrition due to programming frustration is the

Alice approach a means of teaching introductory programming skills using the Alice software Alice is a programming environment that

allows novices to create animations through a drag-drop programming editor removing the issue of syntax errors ( Alice 2010)

Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information Technology (SPIRIT) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsoredgrant (Harriger Dunsmore amp Lutes 2008ndash2011) and is based out of Purdue University under the direction of Alka Harriger This program

includes a summer workshop that integrates professional development for high school teachers and counselors with educational devel-

opment for high school students in the1047297eld of Information Technology (Harriger 2009) The focus of this research investigation is the impact

of a summer program on participantsrsquo attitudes and knowledge about information technology

The research which has been previously discussed indicates that summer workshops are often used to in 1047298uence the beliefs knowledge

and attitudes of teachers in information technology with the assumption that this will in turn in1047298uence the development of positive student

attitudes toward the 1047297eld Based on this prior research students are likely to display improved attitudes toward computing as a potential

career if i) students are provided with positive professional role models as their knowledge of information technology develops and

ii) students experience programming in a fun and successful learning environment Ourmodel of the school-based factors that in1047298uence the

development of a positive attitude toward information technology among high school students which is supported by the previously

discussed literature is depicted in Fig 1 This model includes high school guidance counselors since their jobs entail advising high school

students during the career selection process Based on this model high school teachers rsquo and guidance counselorsrsquo attitudes beliefs and

knowledge impact their classroom behaviors which in1047298uences students development of attitudes beliefs and knowledge toward

computing Students also need positive experiences within computing as well as positive professional role models in order to develop

A Munson et al Computers amp Education xxx (2011) 1ndash142

Pleasecite this article in pressas Munson A et al Computingat thehigh school levelChanging what teachers andstudentsknowand believeComputers amp Education (2011) doi101016jcompedu201103005



a positive attitude toward computing The SPIRIT program was designed to improve studentsrsquo knowledge and attitudes toward information

technology by attending to the various components of the proposed school based factors

SPIRIT includes high school teachers guidance counselors and students in a summer program Through this summer program a positive

programming experience is facilitated through the use of the Alice software (Bishop-Clark Courte Evans amp Howard 2007 Hutchinson

Moskal Dann amp Cooper 2008 Hutchinson Moskal Dann Cooper amp Navidi 2008 Moskal Lurie amp Cooper 2004)

Information sessions which take place during the secondweek of the program are designed to both introduce professional role models to

the participants as well as provide insight to the participants with respect to the many facets of information technology careers In thispaper we focus on measuring change in the teachers counselors and students attitudes beliefs and knowledge with respect to computing

a component of the larger proposed model The opinions and ideas expressed in this article are that of the authors and do not necessarily

re1047298ect that of the NSF

2 Goals

A primary emphasis of the SPIRIT development workshop is to improve the attitudes knowledge and beliefs of high school teachers

guidance counselors and students with respect to information technology High school teachers and guidance counselors are central to

these efforts in that they directly in1047298uence studentsrsquo beliefs with respect to information technology and career aspirations (Harriger 2008)

As proposed by our research based model teachersrsquo and counselorsrsquo attitudes knowledge and beliefs impact the development of studentsrsquo

computing beliefs and interests Teachers also have the potential of a multiplier effect positively in1047298uencing cohorts of students year after

year The SPIRIT workshop also includes high school students directly impacting the population of interest

The research questions which are addressed here are as follows

1 Did the SPIRIT workshop improve the participating high school teachers rsquo guidance counselorsrsquo and studentsrsquo attitudes toward infor-

mation technology

2 Did the SPIRIT workshop improve the participating high school teachersrsquo guidance counselorsrsquo and studentsrsquo knowledge of basic

programming principles

3 What evidence did the SPIRIT workshop provide to support the proposed model for school based in1047298uences on high school studentsrsquo

attitudes and interests in computing

3 Methods

High school teachers guidance counselors and students attended the 2008 SPIRIT summer workshop The teachers attended the

workshop for two weeks and the counselors and students attended for one week The one week workshop for counselors and students was

offered simultaneously with the second week of the teacher workshop All participants were provided with an overview of information

technology career possibilities and an introduction to the Alice software This section describes the workshop participants the workshopdesign and the quantitative and qualitative methodologies used for assessment purposes

31 Workshop participants

Twenty-four high school teachers attended the workshop These teachers taught a variety of high school grade levels and specialized in

subjects ranging from foreign language and English to science programming and mathematics Eleven high school counselors and sixty-

eight high school students from a variety of geographic locations attended the second week of the summer workshop The grade level and

gender breakdown of these students is provided in Table 1 All participants were self-selected and responded to a web-posting or 1047298yers sent

to a broad selection of schools

32 Workshop design

Harriger has previously described in detail the SPIRIT approach for reaching the three participant groups teachers counselors and

students (Harriger 2008 Harriger 2009) this section reviews the application of that approach to the 2008 workshop The SPIRIT workshop

Fig 1 School based in1047298uences on high school studentsrsquo attitudes and interests in computing

A Munson et al Computers amp Education xxx (2011) 1ndash14 3




consisted of a two week summer institute Teachers participated in the full two week program while guidance counselors and students

participated in the second week only The 1047297rst week was devoted to teacher training in the use of the Alice software

The Alice software is utilized as part of the SPIRIT project in order to provide high school teachers guidance counselors and students with

a positive and fun programming experience potentially improving participants rsquo attitudes as well as increasing their computing knowledge

and exposure In the Alice programming environment three dimensional models of objects (eg people animals and vehicles) populate

a virtual world and learners manipulate these objects through the use of a drag-and-drop editor Frustration due to syntax errors is

eliminated because code is not written but rather selected by the user through the drag-and-drop editor (Alice 2010) Learners have the

opportunity to develop the algorithmic thinking of programming without the frustration of simultaneously learning proper programming

syntax In addition students maycreate their own animations using the Alice software illustrating the creativityand innovation that maybe

involved in programming Kelleher and Pausch found that some students develop positive attitudes toward computing when storytelling is

involved (Kelleher amp Pausch 2007) Other programs have successfully used the Alice software as a means for teaching programming

(Cooper et al 2007ndash2010 Hutchinson Moskal Cooper amp Dann 2006) The SPIRIT workshop differs from these efforts in that it emphasizes

the storyboarding components of the Alice software supporting participants in creating animated stories and visual depictions of desired

content

As part of SPIRIT teachers were introduced to the Alice software during the 1047297rst week learning both the basic and more advanced

features of the software They also received instruction and practice creating Alice worlds which were designed to supplement high school

instruction in science technology engineering and mathematics During the 1047297rst week the teachers also converted their own lesson plans

to Alice-based lesson plans This component of the workshop was designed to directly impact teachers rsquo beliefs knowledge and attitudes

with respect to information technology which are critical elements of the proposed model for in1047298uencing studentsrsquo beliefs and attitudes

toward information technology Teachers were also given opportunities to discuss their Alice lesson plans with their fellow participants

allowing for sharing of ideas across disciplines Fig 2 displays an outline of one day of instruction during that 1047297rst week of the workshop

During the second week of the workshop high school guidance counselors and students joined the teachers during instruction This

component of the workshop was designed to introduce participants to basic concepts in information technology and to the career possi-

bilities in the 1047297eld The aim for counselors was to develop a stronger background in information technology so that they could better advise

future students with respect to the potential of pursuing computing careers Meanwhile students attending the workshop were directly

impacted by learning about computing and broadening their knowledge of what constitutes a career in information technology Throughout

this second week teachers counselors and students attended presentations by information technology professionals in areas such asrobotics programming forensics health care and many others Presenters drawn from various 1047297elds described how information tech-

nology is used in their jobs increasing both the ef 1047297ciency and quality of their work For example a police of 1047297cer and a software developer

jointly described mobile applications used to investigate crime scenes As part of this presentation the students were also able to try some of

the software Cyber forensics applications such as the tracking of cell phones and other electronic devices were discussed as methods for

collecting evidence that is used in the prosecution of criminals Career presentations had two designs career speeches and hands-on

demonstration Some presenters made career speeches which described their jobs and how information technology is used in their jobs

Others subdivided participants into small groups and had these groups complete hands-on activities that were illustrative of information

technology applications in their careers This portion of the project addressed the remaining critical component drawn from our model

providing professional role models to participating students and examples of such role models for teachers and counselors to share with

their students We hypothesized that this combination of information knowledge and experience would improve the participating teachers

counselors and studentsrsquo beliefs attitudes and knowledge with respect to the 1047297eld of information technology

Another important aspect of this second week was using the Alice software for storytelling and interactive games As in the 1047297rst week

the goal of the second week was not to convince participants to become programmers but rather to use the Alice software to demonstrate

the potential forcreativity in computing beyondthat of a conventional programming setting This component of the workshopwas designedboth to in1047298uence counselors and students beliefs knowledge and attitudes toward computing as well as to provide a positive learning

Fig 2 Sample day drawn from week 1 schedule teachers only

Table 1

Student population gender and grade level

Grade level Female Male

Freshmen 6 7

Sophomore 16 9

Junior 17 3

Senior 6 3

Note one subject was identi1047297ed only as a trade school student





experience in the use of information technology tools that support a variety of disciplines Also during the second week the participating

teachers tested the lesson plans that they had developed in the 1047297rst week on small groups of participating students receiving feedback for

the improvement of their instructional plans By the end of the week students created an animated Alice world that addressed one of the

following questions

What is my dream job and how will I get it

How do I tell my version of my favorite story

How do I prepare for winning a competition or achieving a goal

Time was allotted between speakers and during evenings to work on their Alice projects This portion of the workshop was designed to

increase the appeal of information technology disciplines and further educate teachers counselors and students on the use of the Alice

software During these laboratory sessions with Alice students could interact with teachers and counselors to receive help and get feedback

On the last day parents and other family members attended a luncheon during which the events of the previous week were highlightedThe

climax of this event was the presentation of the studentsrsquo Alice worlds Fig 3 is a sample schedule for one day of the second week of the

SPIRIT workshop

33 Quantitative methods

Two instruments were used to quantitativelyevaluate the summer workshop an Attitude Survey and a Concept Exam Both the Attitude

Survey and the Concept Exam were administered at the beginning (pre) and the end (post) of the summer workshop to the participating

teachers counselors and students Each is described in the sections that follow

331 Attitude survey

At the time of this study there was no available validated instrument to measure studentsrsquo attitudes with respect to information

technology However as part of another funded NSF grant an attitude survey was developed and validated to measure students rsquo attitudes

with respect to computer science (Moskal Dann Cooper amp Guzdial 2005ndash2008) For the purposes of the current investigation this survey

was modi1047297ed such that its questions re1047298ect information technology rather than computer science Over the course of the SPIRIT project

additional validation information is being collected for the re1047297ned instrument

The modi1047297ed version of the Attitudes Survey seeks to measure 1047297ve constructs related to attitudes towards information technology

Con1047297dence Interest Gender Usefulness and Professional These constructs will be described in greater detail later in the paper The survey

employs a Likert scale with four options Strongly Agree AgreeDisagree and Strongly Disagree Questions on this instrument are phrased in

both positive and negative forms and in all cases a higher score indicates a more positive response For each question the participantrsquos

response is mappedto a numerical value of 0ndash3 The highest score orthe score re1047298ective of the most positiveattitude is threethe lowest or

the score re1047298ective of the most negative attitude is zero The questions that addressed gender were scored such that a neutral response

received the high score (ie women and men perform equally well in computer science) Composite scores for the survey are determined by

summing the scores for each answered question In addition to the Likert-scale survey the Attitude Survey contains three short-response

questions regarding an individualrsquos self-report of their attitudes towards information technology Fig 4 lists the questions for the student

Attitude Survey The teachers and counselors responded to a similar survey with questions which were reworded for an older audience

332 Concept exam

The Concept Exam is a multiple choice assessment whose content is speci1047297c to the Alice software This exam was written using

guidelines for creating effective multiple choice questions (Frary1995 Kehoe 1995) and the content was examined by experts in the 1047297eld of

computing The exam is intended to measure the participantsrsquo familiarity with the software and basic computing principles discussed in the

workshop Each of the seventeen questions in the exam is speci1047297c to the Alice software and asks for interpretations of code using functions

such as Do If IfElse and Loops A sample question appears in Fig 5 This instrumentrsquos effectiveness for measuring change in studentsrsquo

knowledge with respect to the Alice software and basic computing principles has been supported through prior research ( Hutchinson

Moskal Dann amp Cooper 2008 Hutchinson Moskal Dann Cooper amp Navidi 2008)

34 Qualitative methods

Twomethods were used to qualitatively evaluate the SPIRIT program end of the program evaluations and focus groups The purpose of these

qualitative methods was to acquire greater detail as to the participantsrsquo perceptions of the impact of the workshop and as to the importance of

school based factors proposed in our model and their impact on teachersrsquo counselorsrsquo and studentsrsquo attitudes beliefs and knowledge of

computing This information was collected and used to inform our interpretations of the quantitative results as is consistent with the

Fig 3 Sample day drawn from week 2 schedule teachers counselors and students





Fig 4 Student attitude survey





recommendations concerning the useof mixed methods(Leydens Moskal amp Pavelich2004 OldsMoskalamp Miller 2005) Thequalitative method

of emergent categories was used to examine the participants rsquo responses and all responses were double coded to ensure inter-rater reliability

341 End of program evaluation

All participants completed an End of Program Evaluation on the last day of the workshop The evaluation form asked for feedback on the

positive and negative aspects of the workshop as well as additions or changes that should be made for program improvements Speci1047297cally

participants were asked to report on their favorite components of the workshop and were requested to list any activities or presentations

that would be bene1047297cial to add to the workshop Participants were also encouraged to leave general comments and advice about what could

most improve the workshop This self-report written instrument was analyzed using the method of emergent categories In other words

the responses were examinedfor common themes and coded based on those themes The purpose of this instrument wasto solicit feedback

from participants concerning their workshop experience

342 Focus groups

The second qualitative method was the completion of focus groups or semi-structured group interviews with each of the three

participating groups teachers counselors and students A member of the evaluation team completed these focus groups with participants

during a three day period near the end of the summer workshop In order to maintain anonymity participant names were not made

available to the evaluator and no personal identifying information was recorded during the sessions In addition no workshop personnelwere permitted in the room at the time of the focus groups The participants in the focus groups were randomly selected from the speci1047297ed

workshop groups minimizing bias in the focus group responses Each group met with the evaluator for thirty to 45 min The focus group

interviews were guided by structured questions with the intent of discussing the participants rsquo perceptions and use of information tech-

nology rather than the administration of the workshop Fig 6 lists the questions asked during the teacher focus groups Counselor and

student focus groups followed a similar set of questions revised to be audience appropriate

On the 1047297rst day two sets of six teachers were interviewed On the second day three sets of students were interviewed These groups

contained nine seven and three students respectively The second group was exclusively female although not by design On the third day

one group of four female counselors was interviewed A semi-structured interview format was used with each group teachers guidance

counselors and students responding to a different set of base questions designed for the speci1047297c group

4 Results

This section is divided based on the assessment method used Speci1047297cally this section provides a summary of the results concerning the

outcome of the Attitude Survey Concept Exam End of Program Evaluation and the Focus Group activities

Fig 5 Sample test question from concept exam





41 Attitude survey

This section begins with a description of the quantitative analysis of the outcomesof the pre and post Attitude Survey In this 1047297rst section

we present the overall results of the Attitude Survey treating the surveyas a whole ratherthan as a composite of constructsThis responds to

the general question of whether attitudes improved In the second section we examine the effectiveness of the Attitudes Survey for

measuring each pre-de1047297ned construct This section supports recommendations for future uses of the Attitude Survey for measuring

constructs and provides additional support for the 1047297ndings reported in the 1047297rst section This section concludes with a presentation of the

results of the analysis of the open-ended questions which appeared on the Attitude Survey

411 Quantitative results

In order to measure change in attitudes the difference in scores from pre to post administration of the Attitude Survey were examined

using a two-tailed paired t -test on each participating grouphigh school teachers guidance counselors and students Only participants who

completed both the pre and post survey were included in this analysis When the sample size was adequately large these groups were

further divided into male and female groups and tested again When sample sizes were small box plots were constructed to establish

normality before the tests were completed In the student sample the subject pool was large and diverse enough to separate and test the

outcomes for the ethnicities of White and African American All analyses were completed using R and the results are displayed in Table 2

(R Software)

As these tables indicate a statistically signi1047297cant positive change was identi1047297ed for all student groups with the exception of African

Americans None of the teacher or guidance counselor groups displayed a statistically signi1047297cant change We further investigated whether

a ceiling effect was responsible for the lack of improved attitudes in the teachers Due to the fact that teachers self-selected themselves into

the program it was possible that attitudes towards information technology were already high and therefore no change would be detected

However further evaluation indicated that although teacher attitude pre scores were relatively high at the start of the institute there was

some room for improvement This was not re1047298ected in the attitude post scores and will be discussed further in the conclusions

412 Revision and future use

There is currently no validated instrument that is appropriate for collecting attitudinal data from high school students regarding

information technology The instrument used in the SPIRIT workshop was created for such an audience In order to ensure that the

instrument was appropriate for the population studied a factor analysis was completed to acquire evidence as to validity of using this

instrument to measure the previously mentioned 1047297ve intended constructs These 1047297ve constructs were selected based on the qualitative

research in computing concerning factors that discourage student participation The factors are

Con1047297dence Construct (C) studentsrsquo con1047297dence in their own ability to learn computing skills

Interest Construct (I) studentsrsquo interests in computing

Gender Construct (G) studentsrsquo perceptions of computing as a male 1047297eld

Table 2

Teacher counselors and student outcomes on the attitude survey

Categories N subjects Mean difference p-value

Teachers Overall 24 371 0366

Women 16 225 0593

Men 8 663 0497

Counselors Overall 11 5 0054

Women 9 711

Men 2 45

Students Overall 67 546 0005

Women 44 784 0002

Men 23 091

Caucasian 43 484 0008

African Americans 8 225 0679

indicates signi1047297cance at a frac14 05

indicates that sample size was less than thirty and the data contained outliers

Please describe the characteristics of the students with whom you teach that are most likely topursue Information Technology

Please describe the characteristics of the students with whom you teach that are least likely topursue Information Technology

Based on this workshop will you be revising the approaches that you use to encourage studentsto pursue Information Technology If yes please describe how

Based on this workshop do you believe that you can use Alice to enhance studentsrsquo interests inInformation Technology If yes please describe how

Please describe any new curricular ideas that the workshop has brought to yourattention that you are likely to use in the classroom

Are there any curricular ideas presented through the workshop that you are unlikely touse Please explain why

SPIRIT

SPIRIT

Fig 6 Focus group structure questions





Usefulness Construct (U) studentsrsquo beliefs in the usefulness of learning computing and

Professional Construct (P) studentsrsquo beliefs about professionals in computing

A con1047297rmatory factor analysis using oblique promax rotation was performed on the numerically coded Likert style survey responses

Oblique rotations allow for correlations between the different factors and in a survey such as this the 1047297ve constructs are designed to be

correlated (Heersink amp Moskal 2010) Initial results of the analysis were not promising as only the gender construct loaded as expected

Additionally none of the statements from the professional construct were loading on a single factor The professional construct statements

were eliminated from the data and a secondary factor analysis was completed Results of this second factor analysis indicated the existence

of only two factors ndash a gender construct and a second construct comprising usefulness con1047297dence and interest in information technology

This suggests that at the high school level students may not be distinguishing between usefulness con1047297dence and interest with respect to

information technology Based on this analysis we have shortened the attitudes survey for information technology for future use with high

school students to include only two constructs gender and general appeal of information technology which includes usefulness con1047297dence

and interest The survey will total twenty questions ten for each of the two factors The questions that were selected for this revised

instrument were those that loaded highest with regard to each of the two factors Those questions that were selected for the revised

instrument appear in Fig 4 marked with an asterisk Due to the smaller number of teacher and guidance counselor participants no factor

analysis could be completed on these groups

Since a number of questions have been removed from the student Attitude Survey we re-analyzed the data to determine if any

signi1047297cant changes in student attitudes were present using this reduced set of questions The analysis was performed for students only as

the teacher and guidance counselor instruments were not revised Results appear in Table 3 Removing a selection of questions from the

student Attitude Survey did not impact the overall results Statistically signi1047297cant changes were witnessed acrossall student categories from

pre to post assessment with the exception of African American students

413 Qualitative resultsIn order to capture more speci1047297c information about participantsrsquo notions of careers possibilities in information technology participants

were asked to give short-answer responses to three questions The 1047297nal three statements on the Attitude Survey are as follows

Please describe the characteristics of a person with a career in information technology

In your opinion what are examples of careers in information technology

Describe in detail how you would encourage women to pursue a career in information technology

Participants responded to these questions on both the preand post versions of the survey Initially responses were coded for pre and post

and then analyzed and summarized for emergent themes One evaluator examined all of the data and identi1047297ed the emergent themes This

evaluator then de1047297ned the themes and a second evaluator independently categorized the statements based on these themes The second

evaluator correctly matched the responses to the categories 88 90 and 90 of the time for the teachers guidance counselors and

students respectively Once appropriate categories were determined the evaluators examined within each theme for trends of increased or

decreased response rates from pre to post As no theme exhibited a signi1047297cant change in the number of responses from pre to post all

responses were summarized together The resultant themes are listed in Table 4 for each of the three questions along with the number of occurrences of a response within a given group

Originally this component of the Attitude Survey was designed to capture change in responses from pre to post assessment However no

such change was identi1047297ed within groups across administrations Teacher counselor and student responses to the pre and post adminis-

tration of these questions were similar Examination of Table 4 does however indicate differences among studentsrsquo responses and teachersrsquo

and counselorsrsquo responses For example in response to question 2 ldquoIn your opinion what are examples of careers in information tech-

nologyrdquo 25 student statements referenced forensics No teachers or counselors mentioned this topic on either the pre or the post

administration of the assessment yet forensics was a topic explicitly addressed in the workshop This may indicate that forensics is

appealing to students but not necessarily stressed by teachers and counselors as an information technology option In other words teachers

and counselors may either not recognize the applications of information technology to forensics or may not recognize the professional

appeal of forensic to students By making teachers and counselors aware of the appeal of forensics to students this information could be

used to attract student interest to information technology

In response to the third question ldquoDescribe in detail how you would encourage women to pursue a career in information technologyrdquo

studentsrsquo recommended emphasizing the equality of men and women Teacher and counselor responses on the other hand did not include

reference to thistopic Students alsoindicatedthat1047297nancial bene1047297ts would encourage female participation in information technology Only onecounselor referenced this bene1047297t Once again thisindicatesan inconsistency betweenwhat the teachers andcounselors might useto encourage

female participation in information technology and what students believe would encourage female participation Knowledge of these differ-

ences among teacher counselor and student responses could impact methods to encourage female participation in information technology

Table 3

Student performance on revised attitudes survey

Student category N subjects Mean difference p-value

Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104


AfricanndashAmericans 8 213 0452







42 Concept exam

In order to measure change in conceptual knowledge the difference in scores from pre to post administration of the Concept Exam were

examined using a two-tailed paired t -test on each participating group Only participants who completed both the pre and post survey wereincluded in this analysis Subgroup analyses as de1047297ned in the previous section were also completed All analyses were completed using R

and the results are displayed in Table 5 (R software)

As this table indicates a statistically signi1047297cant positive change was identi1047297able for all teacher and student groups However there is no

statistical evidence to support that either male or female counselors displayed an improved performance from the beginning to end of the

summer workshop as indicated by pre and post scores

43 End of program evaluations

At the conclusion of the SPIRIT workshop each participant was asked to provide feedback on their learning experiences Subject

responses were analyzed for themes and the following themes reoccurred Logistics Activities AliceOther Software and Speakers

Presentations Table 6 provides a summary of the number of responses that referred to each theme This section discusses the themes that

directly relate to our research questions In other words we do not include here a discussion of comments concerning workshop breaks

lodging accommodations etc Although recommendations were made in these areas they did not address our research questions

Students requested fewer career speeches so that they could spend more time with hands-demonstration speakers This may be due in

part to the fact that the hands-on sessions were smaller in size allowing for more individualized attention This response reinforces the

importance of student contact with professional role models as part of our proposed model (see Fig 1) It also informs the future devel-

opment of this component of the model it is not the number but rather the time spent with individual role models that appears to be

important Although both the teachers and students found the speakers interesting both groups also reported that the speakers quickly

became too technical for a high school audience This does not detract from the importance of professional role models but rather this

indicates that our speakers could be more effective with training

With respect to activities students preferred the hands-on activities rather than lectures The teachers also commented that long

lectures resulted in reduced student attention The students further requested a more in-depth introduction to the Alice software more time

working with this software and more time working on their projects This response reinforces and extends our proposed model Part of

a positive programming experience may be the inclusion of hands-on experience and in-depth investigations

Table 4

Emergent themes from attitude survey short answer questions

Question amp emergent themes Responses from sub-groups

1 Pl ease descr ibe th e c haracte ri st ic s of a per so n wi th a care er in i nformati on t ech nol ogy Teach ers S tude nts Counselor s

Developed computer skills 2 22 1

Problem solving skills 35 92 12

Do not believe there are any special characteristics or attributes 3 6 2

2 In your opinion what are examples of careers in information technology

Programming 18 46 13 Forensics 0 25 0

General technology gaming graphic design web creation teaching technology 6 31 2

All jobs have information technology related characteristics 13 7 4

3 Describe in detail how you would encourage women to pursue a career in information technology

Demonstrate options opportunities for success 19 20 5

Teach them the bene1047297ts of information technology in their career 22 55 13

Stress equality between men and women 0 13 0

Demonstrate the 1047297nancial bene1047297ts of information technology 0 7 1

Table 5

Teacher Counselors and Student performance on Concept Exam



Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000

African-American 8 188 0044







44 Focus groups

Focus group responses were examined using the method of emergent themes Since the responses of the teachers and counselors were

similar they are reported here together A separate analysis was completed for the student group since they are likely to hold differentperspectives

441 Teacherscounselors

Table 7 lists the common themes that occurred in the focus group discussions with the teachers and counselors The sections that follow

summarize the nature of the comments that comprised each category

In general the teachersrsquo comments with regard to the structure and design of the workshop were positive They reported that they had

adequate time to learn the Alice software and that the workshop had provided them with useful tools (namely the Alice software and

a database of lesson plans) for the academic year The counselors on the other hand indicated that their introduction to the Alice software

was inadequate and that they did not have time to learn the software They did however feel that the Alice software could be a useful tool

for recruiting students to information technology careers Counselors further indicated that they would share the lesson plan database with

teachers at their school Counselors also indicated that their knowledge regarding possible information technology careers had been

enhanced as was consistent with the goals of the workshop In general the counselors did not feel that they were an integrated and

important part of the workshop This was due in part to a perceived lack of formal introduction to other workshop participants They also

requested time during the workshop to collaborate with one another during activities that did not require their direct involvement Thisrequest was reiterated in the counselorsrsquo responses to the End of Program Survey

Both teachers and counselors positively evaluated the student component of the workshop but recommended that future speakers be

selected based on age appropriateness Counselors also felt that the students would bene 1047297t from a more diverse group of speakers This

would include more minorities and female presenters

442 Students

Table 8 lists the common themes that emerged during the focus group discussions with the students The sections that followsummarize

the comments within each category

In general the students indicated that they enjoyed using the Alice software and believed it to be a good tool for teachers to use in the

classroom However they felt that students with no programming experience would struggle with the software and would require more

instruction than was provided at the workshop Students also commented that prior to attending the workshop their perceptions of

information technology careers and students who would attend this workshop were consistent with common stereotypes eg nerdy

boring Upon completion of the workshop they were surprised that the majority of students attending were similar to themselves sharing

a variety of interests Much like the teachers and the counselors the students did not feel that the speakers were age appropriate They

requested younger speakers with whom they could relate They also requested more hands-on activities

Many students commented on the Attitude Survey and Concept Exam that they were asked to complete They found the Attitude Survey

to be too long and discriminatory with respect to gender With respect to the Concept Exam many of the students felt that the topics

Table 6

Summary of responses to the end of program evaluation

Teacher Counselor Student

Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52

AliceOther Software 7 3 17

SpeakersPresentations 7 2 11

Table 7

Focus group emergent themes ndash teacherscounselors

Theme Number of occurrences

Usefulness of the workshopAlice software 11

Perception of student response to workshop 10

Workshop set-up and administration 10

Note Twelve high school teachers and four female counselors were interviewed using focus groups

Table 8

Focus group emergent themes ndash students


EnjoymentUsefulness of Alice software 14

Increased knowledge of information technology careers 5

Perceptions of information technology students 4

Reaction to Attitudes SurveyConcept Exam 6

Presentations 7

Note Nineteen students were interviewed through focus groups





addressed were not necessarily part of the workshop The students also commented that the workshop had broadened their understanding

of the jobs available in information technology Many were surprised to learn that there were jobs available in information technology other

than programming A student group that contained only women commented that they particularly enjoyed the topics of forensics and

collaboration of health care with information technology careers These women also commented on the quality of the presentations when

a presentation was well done the career that was being discussed became exciting

5 Conclusions

A major goal of the SPIRIT workshop was to improve the attitudes and beliefs of high school teachers counselors and students toward

the 1047297eld of information technology Students were in1047298uenced both directly through workshop presentations and laboratory time and

indirectly through interactions with the high school teachers and counselors during the workshop laboratory sessions devoted to using and

presenting lessons plans with Alice Since teachers and counselors often servedas learning peers rather than mentors to the students during

the workshop the in1047298uence of the teachers and counselors on students at the workshop may not be as signi 1047297cant However the impact of

this project is expected to reach not only those students who participated in the summer workshop but also students who interacted with

the teachers and counselors during the following academic year (and years beyond) We employed the previously described assessment

instruments and techniques to measure the impact of the SPIRIT workshop on the attitudes beliefs and knowledge of the high school

teachers counselors and students These methods further provide evidence to indicate the appropriateness of our proposed model

The Attitude Survey was designed to directly address research question one ldquoDid the SPIRIT workshop improve the participating high

school teachersrsquo guidance counselorsrsquo and studentsrsquo attitudes toward information technologyrdquo Based on the outcomes of the Attitude

Survey there is evidence to support that student attitudes improved with respect to the information technology1047297eld from the beginning to

the end of the summer workshop A paired t -test detected a statistically signi1047297cant increase of positive responses from pre to post

assessment for all student groups with the exception of African Americans a group for which the sample size may have been too small to

support detection This result was consistent both when the analysis was completed on the full instrument and when the analysis wascompleted on the re1047297ned instrument based on the factor analysis Given this the answer to research question one for students was ldquoyesrdquo

Teachers and counselors however did not display a statistically signi1047297cant change in attitudes from pre to post administration of the

Attitude Survey Their attitude scores neither increased nor decreased Although the mean score for attitudes on both pre and post versions

of the Attitude Survey were highfor teachers and counselors the mean prescore was not at a level to suggest a ceiling effect there was some

room for attitudes to improve It is possible that adult attitudes are more robust than student attitudes A one or two week workshop aimed

at developing skills and knowledge may not be enough to alter such engrained attitudes This result is less of a concern than was the student

attitudes as the participating teachersrsquo and counselorsrsquo did display strong positive attitudes at the start of the program Additional growth

may not be necessary in these groups to encourage their students rsquo interests and participation in information technology Instead these

groups may need information and experiences in information technology which they may share with students

The second research question ldquoDid the SPIRIT workshop improve the participating high school teachers rsquo guidance counselorsrsquo and

studentsrsquo knowledge of basic programming principlesrdquo was addressed through the Concept Exam Through the Concept Exam there was

evidence to support that both the teachersrsquo and studentsrsquo content knowledge improved as a result of the workshop Both groups displayed

statistically signi1047297cant increases from pre to post assessment The guidance counselors on the other hand displayed no such increase The

reader is reminded that the teachers participated in a two week workshop and the students and guidance counselors participated in a oneweek workshop For many adults the amount of instruction allotted during the second week of the workshop for using Alice may not be

enough High school students grew up in a technology rich environment many adults did not A single week of instruction using the Alice

software may be inadequate to develop adult skills This sentiment is re1047298ected through the counselorsrsquo responses during the focus group

Many complained that they had not had enough time to learn the Alice software or the programming principles that this software helps to

develop Similar complaints were not re1047298ected in the student responses yet the participating students also only had one week of

instruction using the Alice software Students did comment that those with less experience programming may require additional instruction

in order to develop comfort with the software

The 1047297nal research question was ldquoWhat evidence did the SPIRIT workshop provide to support the proposed model for school based

in1047298uences on high school studentsrsquo attitudes and interests in computingrdquo Both counselors and students commented during the focus

groups that participation in the summer workshop had increased their understanding of the types of careers that are available in infor-

mation technology Additionally the responses from the short answer Attitude Survey questions indicated that both groups had expanded

their awareness of what constitutes an information technology career and the appeal of information technology careers All three groups

also provided recommendations for improving the workshop These recommendations did not challenge the proposed model but rather

they suggested methods for strengthening programs based on this modelBased on both the quantitative and qualitative results the importance of the interlocking ovals displayed in Fig 1 which represent

positive programming experience and professional role models were supported Students teachers and counselors acknowledged that

these factors were essential to student development during this program Additionally students expanded on the types of programming

experience and professional role models that they desired They wanted hands-on materials and limited lectures They also desired more

time with speakers and fewer talks It is possible but not con1047297rmable here that hands-on activities are essential to creating a positive

programming experience This is left to future research

The impact of teachersrsquo and counselorsrsquo beliefs knowledge and attitudes with respect to information technology on students which is

illustrated in the 1047297rst column of the model in Fig 1 was less apparent As previously mentioned although the teachers and counselors did

interact with the students during the workshop they often did so as learning peers The presentations that were made by professionalsfrom

the information technology community were given to the entire participant group Teachers counselors and students were learning side-

by-side This mayhave reduced the impact that teachers and counselors had on the participating studentsThe real test of this component of

the model needs to occur within a classroom and is left for future research

An incorrect assumption that was made with regard to the counselor component of the program was that counselors could receive the

same treatment as the teachers but over a shorter period of time This did not appear to be true The counselors were far less likely to be





concerned about the applications of the program to the student population than were the teachers In retrospect this makes sense given

that counselors advise students and do not develop and implement instructional lesson plans Counselors primarily wanted to know what

they could tell students about professional careers in information technology they did not desire the technical details of the subject

Additionally the counselors expressed frustration with the workshop attempt to teach the Alice software in a single week

The model proposed in this article is the result of multiple research investigations which have been developed and implemented over

many years Some of this research was completed by members of the current research team ( Heersink Moskal Dann Heringer amp Cooper

2010 Moskal et al 2007) and some was completed by the broader research community ( Cooper et al 2007ndash2010 Duplantis et al 2002

Felix amp Harris 2010 Treu amp Skinner 2002) As was discussed in the introduction to this article researchers speculate that summer work-

shops can have a positive impact on studentsrsquo interests and persistence in computing (Pitman 2010 Symans 2000) Prior investigations

range from those that focus on teachers to those that focus on students to those that include both This investigation moves beyond prior

research in two important manners First this article proposes and lays the foundation for a theoretical model that describes school based

in1047298uences on high school studentsrsquo attitudes and interests in computing based on prior research Second based on this proposed model

a summer workshop which aligns with prior research (Chumbley et al 2002 Conley et al 2000 Felix amp Harris 2010 LoPresti et al 2010

Rursch et al 2010 Symans 2000 Tangney et al 2010 ) and was extended to include counselors as a target population was developed and

tested Based on the results our efforts with counselors were less effective than ourefforts with teachers and students However in terms of

prior research there was far less information to inform the development of a counselor program than a teacher and student program such

as those previously mentioned (Chumbley et al 2002 Conley et al 2000 Felix amp Harris 2010 LoPresti et al 2010 Rursch et al 2010

Symans 2000 Tangney et al 2010)

The research presented here begins to develop the research base that is necessary to create programs that effectively address the needs of

all school-based participants ie teachers counselors and students This research further con1047297rms that summer workshops can have

a positive impact on studentsrsquo beliefs attitudes and content knowledge in computing Such workshops should further be informed by the

prior research which indicates the importance of a positive initial computing experience and the need for professional role models The

remaining components of our proposed model beyond the impact of this program on teachersrsquo counselors and studentsrsquo beliefs attitudesand knowledge of computing require con1047297rmation through future research

References

Barker Lecia J McDowell Charlie amp Kalahar Kimberly (2009) Exploring factors that in1047298uence computer science course students to persist in the major ACM SIGCSE Bulletin41(2) 282ndash286

Bishop-Clark Cathy Courte Jill Evans Donna amp Howard Elizabeth V (2007) A quantitative and qualitative investigation of using Alice programming to improve con1047297denceenjoyment and achievement among non-majors Journal of Educational Computing Research 37 (2) 193ndash207

Brophy Sean Klein Stacey Portsmore Merredith amp Rogers Chris (2008) Advancing engineering education in P-12 classrooms Journal of Engineering Education 97 (3)369ndash387

Cantrell Pamela amp Ewing-Taylor Jacque (2009) Exploring STEM career options through collaborative high school seminars Journal of Engineering Education 98(3) 295ndash303Chandler M (2009) Fewer high school students taking computer science classes The Washington Post Online httpwwwwashingtonpostcomwp-dyncontentarticle

20091220AR2009122002477html (Accessed March 2010)Chumbley L S Hargrave C P Constant K Hand B Andre T amp Thompson E A (2002) Project ExCEL web-based scanning electron microscopy for K-12 Education Journal

of Engineering Education 91(2) 203ndash210

Conley Christopher H Ressler Stephen J Lenox Thomas A amp Samples Jerry W (2000) Teaching teachers to teach engineering-T4

E Journal of Engineering Education 89(1)31ndash38

Connolly C Murphy E amp Moore S (2009) Programming anxiety amongst computing students ndash a key in the retention debate IEEE Transactions on Education 52(1)(February)

Cooper S Dann W Lewis D Triefenbach F Rodger S Hodgson J et al (2007ndash2010) An innovative approach to attracting students to computing A comprehensive proposal (NSF DRL- 0623808 DRL-1019273 DRL-0624654 DRL-0624642 DRL-0624528 DRL-0624479 DRL-0623808)

Dabbagh Nada amp Menasce Daniel A (2006) Student perceptions of engineering entrepreneurship an exploratory study Journal Of Engineering Education 95(2) 153ndash163Duplantis W MacGregor E Klawe M amp Ng M (2002) lsquoVirtual Familyrsquo an approach to introducing Java programming SIGCSE Bulletin ndash Inroads Special Issue Women and

Computing 34(2) 40ndash43Felix Allison amp Harris John (2010) A project-based STEM-integrated alternative energy team challenge for teachers The Technology Teacher Academic OneFile (Accessed

February 2010)Foster A L (2005) Student interest in computer science plummets The Chronicle of Higher Education A31ndashA32 May 27 2005FraryR B (1995) Practical assessment research and evaluation more multiple-choiceitem writingdorsquo sanddonrsquo ts httppareonlinenetgetvnaspvfrac144ampnfrac1411 (Accessed March2010)Galpin Vashti C amp Sanders Ian D (2007) Perceptions of computer science at a South African university Computers amp Education 49(4) 1330 (27)Harriger A Dunsmore H amp Lutes K (2008ndash2011) Surprising possibilities imagined and realized through information technology (spirit) Subcontract with Purdue University

NSF DRL-0737679Harriger A (June 2009) Could Alice equalize student learning Alice symposium Durham NC Duke University 4 pagesHarriger A (JulyndashDecember 2008) Finding success through SPIRIT Journal of STEM Education 9(3 amp 4) 31ndash36Heersink D amp Moskal B (2010) Measuring high school students rsquo attitudes toward computing Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the special interest group in

computer science education Milwaukee WisconsinHeersink D Moskal B Dann W Heringer A amp Cooper S (2010) Investing High School Studentsrsquo Computing Beliefs Paper submitted to the proceedings of the Annual

Meeting of the American Educational Research AssociationHutchison Mica A Follman Deborah K Sumpter Melissa amp Bodner George M (2006) Factors in1047298uencing the self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs of 1047297rst-year engineering students Journal

of Engineering Education 95(1) 39ndash47Hutchinson A Moskal B Dann W Cooper S amp Navidi W (2008a) The Alice curricular approach a community college intervention in introductory programming courses

2008 iNEER Special Volume INNOVATIONS 2008 World Innovations in Engineering Education and ResearchHutchinson A Moskal B Dann W Cooper S (2008b) Impact of the Alice curriculum on community college studentsrsquo attitudes and learning with respect to computer

science Proceedings of the 2008 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Pittsburgh PAHutchinson A Moskal B Cooper S amp Dann W (2006) the Alice curriculum impact on women in programming courses Proceedings of the 2006 ASEE Annual Conference

and Exposition Chicago ILKehoe J (1995) Practical assessment research and evaluation writing multiple-choice test items httppareonlinenetgetvnaspvfrac144ampnfrac149 (Accessed March 2010)Kelleher C amp Pausch R (2007) Using storytelling to motivate programming Communications of the ACM 50(7) 58ndash64Leydens J Moskal B amp Pavelich M (2004) Qualitative methods used in the assessment of engineering education Journal of Engineering Education 93(1) 65ndash72LoPresti P G Manikas T W amp Kohlbeck J G (2010) An electrical engineering summer academy for middle school and high school students IEEE Transactions on Education

53(1) 18ndash25Moskal B Skokan C Kosbar L Dean A Westland C Barker H et al (2007) K-12 outreach identifying the broaderimpacts of four outreach projects Journal of Engineering

Education 96 (2) 173ndash189

Moskal B Lurie D amp Cooper S (20 04) Evaluating the effectiveness of a new instructional approach Proceedings of the Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education





Moskal B Dann W Cooper S amp Guzdial M (2005ndash2008) Collaborative research Assessing concept knowledge and attitudes in introductory computer science NSFDUE-0512064

National Science Foundation (2006) Table C-4 bachelor rsquo s degrees by sex and 1047297eld 1997 ndash 2006 httpwwwnsfgovstatisticswmpdpdftabc-4pdf (Accessed March 2009)Olds B Moskal B amp Miller R (2005) Assessment in engineering education Evolution approaches and future collaborations Journal of Engineering Education 94(1)13ndash25Papastergiou Marina (2008) Are computer science and information technology still masculine 1047297elds High school studentsrsquo perceptions and career choices (Report)

Computers amp Education 51(2) 594 (15)Patterson D A (2005) Restoring the popularity of computer science Communication of the ACM 48(9) 25ndash28Reges S (2006) Back to basics in CS1 and CS2 SIGCSE Bulletin 38(1) 293ndash297Rursch J A Luse A amp Jacobson D (2010) IT-adventures a program to spark it interest in high school students using inquiry-based learning with cyber defense game

design and robotics IEEE Transactions on Education 53(1) 71ndash79

R Software httpwwwr-projectorgSloan Robert H amp Troy Patrick (2008) CS 05 A better approach to introductory computer science for majors httptiggeruiceduwtroysigcseCS0point5pdf (Accessed March

2010)Symans Michael D (2000) Introducing middle school students to engineering principals using educational bridge design software Journal of Engineering Education 89(3)

273ndash278Tangney B Oldham E Conneely C Barrett S amp Lawlor J (2010) Pedagogy and processes for a computer programming outreach workshop-the bridge to college model

IEEE Transactions on Education 53(1) 53ndash60The Alice software (2010) wwwaliceorg (Accessed March 2010)The Eric Pitman Annual Summer Workshop in Computational Sciences (2010) Center for computational research the state university of New York httpwwwccrbuffaloedu

displayWEBSummerthornWorkshop (Accessed March 2010)Tillberg Heather K amp McGrath Cohoon J (2005) Attracting women to the CS major 261 Frontiers - A Journal of Womenrsquo s Studies 126 (15)Treu K amp Skinner A (2002) Ten suggestions for a gender equitable CS classroom SIGCSE Bulletin ndash Inroads Special Issue Women and Computing 34(2) 165ndash167Trytten D A Walden S E amp Rhoads T R (2005) Industrial engineering student perceptions of computer science computer engineering and electrical engineering

Proceedings of the 35th Annual Conference of Frontiers in Education Pages S1H-1Tsai W T Chen Yinong Cheng Calvin Sun Xin Bitter Gary amp White Mary (2008) An introductory course on service-oriented computing for high schools (Report)

Education 7 (Annual 2008) Journal of Information Technology 315 (24)Yasar Senay Baker Dale Robinson-Kurpius Sharon Krause Stephen amp Roberts Chell (2006) Developmen of a survey to assess K-12 teachersrsquo perceptions of engineers and

familiarity with teaching design engineering and technology Journal of Engineering Education 95(3) 205ndash216

Ashlyn H Munson (munsonahpluedu) received her PhD and MS in Mathematics from the Colorado School of Mines She is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Paci1047297cLutheran University Her research interests include Biostatistics and Educational Assessment in the STEM disciplines She is currently involved in the assessment of programs atPaci1047297c Lutheran University which bring undergraduate students into middle school classrooms in the south Puget Sound region

Barbara M Moskal (bmoskalminesedu) received her EdD in Mathematics Education with a minor in Quantitative Research Methodology and her MA in Mathematics from theUniversity of Pittsburgh She is a Professor in the Mathematical and Computer Sciences and the Director of the Center for Assessment in Science Technology Engineering andMathematics at the Colorado School of Mines Her research interests include student assessment K-12 outreach and equity issues

Alka R Harriger (harrigeapurdueedu) joined the faculty of the Computer and Information Technology Department (CIT) at Purdue University in 1982 and is currently a Professorof Computer Information Technology and Assistant Department Head Professor Harrigerrsquos current interests include reducing the IT gender gap web application development andservice learning Since January 2008 she has been leading the NSF-ITEST SPIRIT project which is discussed in this article and seeks to rekindle enthusiasm for informationtechnology disciplines as a career choice among high school students especially young women

Tonya Lauriski-Karriker is currently a PhD candidate at the Colorado School of Mines Her current research area is in biostatistics and includes sampling methods for case controlstudies

Daniel Heersink is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Zurich His current area of research is in spatial statistics and modeling of geostatistical data with applications toroad engineering




A concern within computing is providing high school students with computing experience before they enter college Some researchers

have argued that the reason for the decreasing number of computing majors is a lack of awareness on the part of students as to the diverse

job opportunities available in computing (Cantrell amp Ewing-Taylor 2009 Papastergiou 2008) These misconceptions have been shown to

pervade even after students have entered college and completed college level computing courses (Trytten Walden amp Rhoads 2005) Many

students are convinced that computing degrees result in desk jobs which require little or no innovation or creativity (Galpin amp Sanders

2007) Furthermore high school teachers can have a signi1047297cant impact on studentsrsquo attitudes with respect to all subjects including

computing (Barker et al 2009 Brophy Klein Portsmore amp Rogers 2008 Tillberg amp McGrath Cohoon 2005 ) Most high school teachers

including those who are trained in mathematics and science subjects which are closely aligned with computing are ill-prepared to

introduce computing topics to their students (Chumbley et al 2002 Yasar Baker Robinson-Kurpius Krause amp Roberts 2006) One

approach to addressing this issue drawn from the computing and engineering education literature is through summer workshops Such an

approach has been found to increase both studentsrsquo interests and con1047297dence in the subject (Chumbley et al 2002 Conley Ressler Lenox amp

Samples 2000 Felix amp Harris 2010 LoPresti Manikas amp Kohlbeck 2010 Pitman 2010 Rursch Luse amp Jacobson 2010 Symans 2000

Tangney Oldham Conneely Barrett amp Lawlor 2010 Tsai et al 2008)

The most common version of the summer workshop is offering professional development experiences to practicing teachers with the

secondary goal of impacting students (Conley et al 2000 Moskal et al 2007) One example of such a workshop is Project Excel a one day

teacher workshop that targeted K-12 teachers in Iowa This workshop provided instruction in science and technology and supported

teachers as they gained the con1047297dence and knowledge necessary to increase the science and technology explored in the classroom

(Chumbley et al 2002) A similar approach was used at Saint Francis University This program offered a twoweek summer workshopto high

school teachers which focused on the science disciplines This included science education and its motivation hands-on presentations and

lectures by guest speakers and lesson plan creation (Felix amp Harris 2010)

A more direct approach is to target the interests of K-12 students without the participation of teachers (Pitman 2010 Rursch et al 2010

Tangney et al 2010) A limitation of these programs is that researchers must work with cohorts of students one at a time whereas training

teachers has the potential of a multiplier effect impacting many cohorts of students over several years An example of a student centeredapproach is the Eric Pitman Annual Summer Workshop in Computational Sciences The goal of this workshop is to introduce high school

students to computer modeling and simulation by applying programming as a means of solving problems drawn from other scienti1047297c 1047297elds

(Pitman 2010) Another example designed by Symans (2000) targets only 8th grade students in Pullman WA This week long program uses

bridge design software to encourage K-12 interest in engineering In a student program developed by Tangney a two-dimensional

animation software Scratch is taught to second-level students in the UK over a three and a half day workshop ( Tangney et al 2010) The

IT-Adventures program provides yet another example onewhich is implemented after school This program seeks to increase the awareness

of high school students concerning the opportunities available in Information Technology (Rursch et al 2010)

Other programs have been designed which include both teachers and students For example the Electrical Engineering Summer

Academy in Tulsa OK was offered in 2007 and 2008 (LoPresti et al 2010) Participating teachers attended a weeklong training workshop

immediately prior to a weeklong student program Through the training the teachers gained instructional knowledge that they used to

assist the academy directors in the instruction of the student program The academy directors also worked with the participating teachers to

ensure that the workshopinformationwould be used in the participating teachersrsquo classrooms during the following academic year A similar

design was used by Cooper et al (2007ndash2010) and was offered to middle school and high school teachers and students in multiple states In

this program participating teachers attended a two-week summer workshop and provided instruction to middle school and high schoolstudents during the one-week student workshop that followed The goal of this program was to improve both teachers and students rsquo

knowledge and interests in computing

Summer workshops may help to increase high school teachersrsquo and studentsrsquo interest in computing but once students have developed

this interest efforts are also needed to sustain that interest Another known factor that in1047298uences studentsrsquo desire to pursue and persist in

computing degrees is their experiencesin introductory programming courses both at the high school and college level Students completing

introductory programming courses at the college level who have not had prior programming experience often become intimidated by their

more experienced peers leading to attrition (Barker et al 2009 Dabbagh amp Menasce 2006 Hutchison Follman Sumpter amp Bodner 2006

Sloan amp Troy 2008) A major challenge of programming is learning computing concepts simultaneously with the syntax of the programming

language (Duplantis MacGregor Klawe amp Ng 2002) It is well known that novice programmers struggle with syntax errors in their

programs and often incorrectly believe these to be errors in their logic This leads to frustration and potentially dropping the course

(Connolly Murphy amp Moore 2009 Treu amp Skinner 2002) One means of combating this early attrition due to programming frustration is the

Alice approach a means of teaching introductory programming skills using the Alice software Alice is a programming environment that

allows novices to create animations through a drag-drop programming editor removing the issue of syntax errors ( Alice 2010)

Surprising Possibilities Imagined and Realized through Information Technology (SPIRIT) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsoredgrant (Harriger Dunsmore amp Lutes 2008ndash2011) and is based out of Purdue University under the direction of Alka Harriger This program

includes a summer workshop that integrates professional development for high school teachers and counselors with educational devel-

opment for high school students in the1047297eld of Information Technology (Harriger 2009) The focus of this research investigation is the impact

of a summer program on participantsrsquo attitudes and knowledge about information technology

The research which has been previously discussed indicates that summer workshops are often used to in 1047298uence the beliefs knowledge

and attitudes of teachers in information technology with the assumption that this will in turn in1047298uence the development of positive student

attitudes toward the 1047297eld Based on this prior research students are likely to display improved attitudes toward computing as a potential

career if i) students are provided with positive professional role models as their knowledge of information technology develops and

ii) students experience programming in a fun and successful learning environment Ourmodel of the school-based factors that in1047298uence the

development of a positive attitude toward information technology among high school students which is supported by the previously

discussed literature is depicted in Fig 1 This model includes high school guidance counselors since their jobs entail advising high school

students during the career selection process Based on this model high school teachers rsquo and guidance counselorsrsquo attitudes beliefs and

knowledge impact their classroom behaviors which in1047298uences students development of attitudes beliefs and knowledge toward

computing Students also need positive experiences within computing as well as positive professional role models in order to develop














2 Goals









mation technology





3 Methods











32 Workshop design





















content




























Table 1



Freshmen 6 7

Sophomore 16 9

Junior 17 3

Senior 6 3









following questions









SPIRIT workshop





331 Attitude survey
















332 Concept exam

































342 Focus groups













4 Results








41 Attitude survey














(R Software)
















Table 2




Women 16 225 0593

Men 8 663 0497


Women 9 711

Men 2 45


Women 44 784 0002

Men 23 091











SPIRIT

SPIRIT





















































Table 3



Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104









42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References

























































2 Goals









mation technology





3 Methods











32 Workshop design





















content




























Table 1



Freshmen 6 7

Sophomore 16 9

Junior 17 3

Senior 6 3









following questions









SPIRIT workshop





331 Attitude survey
















332 Concept exam

































342 Focus groups













4 Results








41 Attitude survey














(R Software)
















Table 2




Women 16 225 0593

Men 8 663 0497


Women 9 711

Men 2 45


Women 44 784 0002

Men 23 091











SPIRIT

SPIRIT





















































Table 3



Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104









42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References





























































content




























Table 1



Freshmen 6 7

Sophomore 16 9

Junior 17 3

Senior 6 3









following questions









SPIRIT workshop





331 Attitude survey
















332 Concept exam

































342 Focus groups













4 Results








41 Attitude survey














(R Software)
















Table 2




Women 16 225 0593

Men 8 663 0497


Women 9 711

Men 2 45


Women 44 784 0002

Men 23 091











SPIRIT

SPIRIT





















































Table 3



Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104









42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References



















































following questions









SPIRIT workshop





331 Attitude survey
















332 Concept exam

































342 Focus groups













4 Results








41 Attitude survey














(R Software)
















Table 2




Women 16 225 0593

Men 8 663 0497


Women 9 711

Men 2 45


Women 44 784 0002

Men 23 091











SPIRIT

SPIRIT





















































Table 3



Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104









42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References































































342 Focus groups













4 Results








41 Attitude survey














(R Software)
















Table 2




Women 16 225 0593

Men 8 663 0497


Women 9 711

Men 2 45


Women 44 784 0002

Men 23 091











SPIRIT

SPIRIT





















































Table 3



Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104









42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References
















































41 Attitude survey














(R Software)
















Table 2




Women 16 225 0593

Men 8 663 0497


Women 9 711

Men 2 45


Women 44 784 0002

Men 23 091











SPIRIT

SPIRIT





















































Table 3



Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104









42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References































































































Table 3



Overall 67 236 0012

Women 44 305 0015

Men 23 104









42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References
















































42 Concept exam
























Table 4
















Table 5




Women 16 238 0000

Men 8 0 1000


Women 9 033 0681

Men 2 15


Women 44 252 0000

Men 23 126 0009

White 43 214 0000








44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References
















































44 Focus groups


















442 Students












Table 6



Logistics 15 9 26

Activities 15 3 52



Table 7







Table 8







Presentations 7











5 Conclusions


















































































References





















































5 Conclusions


















































































References







































































References














































computing at the high school level

Documents