Linda J. Sax, Ph.D.Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

UCLA

Diversity in Computer Science: Nationwide Trends and the BRAID

Initiative

25 years studying gender differences in college student development

My Background

Longstanding concern: The gender gap in

mathematical self-concept

%freshmenrating“highest10%”or“aboveaverage”inmathability

Women Overrepresented Across All Fields, but Underrepresented in STEM

57

35

43

65

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

AllBachelor'sDegreeRecipients STEMBachelor'sDegreeRecipients

ProportionsofBachelor’sDegreeRecipients,byGender(2014)

Men

Women

Source:NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,DigestofEducationStatistics,2015

Need to Consider Differences Across STEM Fields

5843 39

18 18

4257 61

82 82

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

BiologicalSciences Mathematics/Statistics PhysicalSciences Engineering ComputerScience

ProportionsofBachelor’sDegreeRecipients,byGender(2014)

Men

Women

Women’s Relative Representation in STEM Varies by Field

Source:NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,DigestofEducationStatistics,2015

Gender Gap in Intent to Major in Computer Science (Freshman Survey)

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

10%

Women

Men

Source:CooperativeInstitutionalResearchProgramFreshmanSurvey,HigherEducationResearchInstitute,UCLA

The Need to Collect New Data

Summer 2014 lamentations:Existing research on students in CS often based on single-institution, cross-sectional studiesNeed to examine students in a variety of settingsNeed to track students over time and into careersNeed to understand both majors and non-majors taking CS courses

And along comes BRAID…

What is BRAID?

BRAID is a partnership between the Anita Borg Institute, Harvey Mudd College, and UCLA

Research sponsored by the Anita Borg Institute, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Intel, CRA, and NSF

15-campus initiative to promote gender and racial/ethnic diversity in undergraduate computing

Arizona State U., Missouri University of S&T, New Jersey Institute of S&T, UC Irvine, U. of Illinois-Chicago, U. of Maryland-Baltimore County, U. of Maryland-College Park, U. of Nebraska-Lincoln, U. of North Texas, U. of Rochester, U. of South Carolina-Columbia, UTEP, U. of Vermont, U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Villanova

BRAID department strategies include:Revamping intro coursesPromoting interdisciplinary CSBuilding student communityK-12 outreach

Goals of BRAID Research

To advance knowledge about diversity in undergraduate computingTo better understand…

Student exposure to and engagement in best practices in CSThe impact of computing experiences (especially in introductory courses) on desired student outcomes, including:

computing confidencesense of belonging in computinginterest in computing careers

Longer-term major pathways and career plans of intro course students (new NSF funding #1525737)How all of this varies by gender and race/ethnicity

Phase One: Qualitative and Quantitative Baseline Data Collection

InstitutionalEnrollmentData

DepartmentChairs

IntroductoryCourseInstructors

CSMajorsandMinors

IntroCSStudents

Phase Two: Annual Follow-Up Surveys of Over 10K Intro CS Students

IntroCSStudents2015-16

N=4898(Fall+Spring)

Follow-up2016

N=2256(46%)

Follow-up2017

Follow-up2018

Follow-up2017

Follow-up2018

IntroCSStudents2016-17

N=5252andcounting

Early Findings and Related Research Questions

Women better represented in CS intro courses (32%) than among CS degree earners (16%)

What experiences encourage women to pursue CS degrees?

Women in intro CS represent broader range of disciplines (math, bio, social sciences, humanities)

Do they incorporate computing into future courses and career plans?

Women’s sense that they “do not have much in common” with others increases during intro class

What happens beyond the intro class?

Women and URMs…Tend to have less prior programming experienceTend to take intro CS later than majority students**To what extent does this ultimately matter?

Data Collection Continues Through 2018 (and beyond…)

More info: https://braidresearch.gseis.ucla.edu/