This document summarizes a study conducted by Young Women in Computing (YWiC) to analyze factors impacting student interest in computer science. YWiC administered surveys before and after classroom workshops ("roadshows") to measure changes in interest and knowledge of computer science. Key findings include: 1) The percentage of students reporting being "super interested" in computer science increased 33% after roadshows, while those with little interest decreased 23%. 2) Student knowledge of basic computer science concepts increased 66% after roadshows. 3) While not definitive, the data suggests roadshows are effective at increasing student interest in computer science. Future work will use survey data to improve outreach and teaching techniques.

1. Gender
African American
Ethnicity
Hispanic
White
Other
American Indian
Asian
60%
4%
2%
23%
7%
4%
56%
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Analyzing Factors Impacting Student
Interest in Computer Science
What is a Roadshow?
Susana Bali, Jeanne Chen, Jen Dana,
Samantha McGuinn, Noor Muhyi,
Natasha Nesiba, and Nicole Ray
Future Work
The Roadshow Experience
Grade Distribution
Young Women in Computing
Data collected from the surveys will assist in the development of future roadshow
curriculum. Every workshop YWiC hosts is tailored to achieve student success with
immediate results and outcomes through the teaching of early computing principles.
Evaluating survey results may establish a greater understanding of outreach
populations and their experiences, and lead to more effective teaching techniques.
The data collected will allow YWiC reach more students and bring awareness to the
impact of computer science on students.
Young Women in Computing Program (YWiC) is an outreach initiative
developed with the vision to increase the participation in computer science (CS)
activities and exposure for all students in New Mexico. YWiC began in 2006 and
is housed in the Department of Computer Science at New Mexico State
University and focuses on multidimensional program components such as:
• In-school presentations
• After-School programming
• Summer programs
• State-wide competitions
• Social networking
• Forums and conferences
• Teacher-program collaborations
Survey Outcomes
1%
14%
29%
57%
5%
33%
38%
24%
0
50
100
Not Interested
A Little interested
Pretty Interested
Super Interested
Pre
Post
Student Access to
Technology at Home
96%
95%
Have Computers
Have Internet
Do you know what
Computer Science is?
Pre
Post
19%
85%
Data Analysis
Research Methodology
How Interested are you in
Computer Science?
2nd
4th
5th
6th
7th
9th
40%
1%
1%
22%
33%
3%
An important component of YWiC research is outreach in the form of roadshows:
short, hands-on classroom-style workshops that are adaptable and mobile to
individualized situations. The level of difficulty for a roadshow session can be
tailored to students ranging from elementary to high school. All roadshow
instructors are undergraduate research assistants working at Young Women in
Computing. Each roadshow is composed of three parts:
• Awareness-raising Component: Demonstrate the diversity, variety,
and possibilities in the field of computing.
• Educational Component: Introduce students to computational
thinking skills.
• Hands-on Component: Computational thinking skills are utilized.
In February 2013 YWiC began surveying students during roadshows to acquire a better
understanding of potential factors impacting student interest in computer science.
Surveys were conducted over a four month period during 18 workshops; 53% of the
surveys were administered to pre-workshop groups and 47% post-workshop groups.
Although the ideal survey model for this research would have been to issue both pre- and
post- surveys to every group, but time did not allow for two surveys every roadshow.
Roadshow curriculum consisted of various projects on two platforms: PicoCrickets and
Storytelling Alice. These platforms were chosen specifically because they are introductory
programming platforms. Specific projects were chosen based on the amount of time
allotted for each roadshow, but project difficulty was comparable across all projects.
*Students were asked if they had access to
computers and internet in their homes.
Between the pre- and post-survey groups there was:
• Students who reported they were “super interested” in computer science
increased 33%
• Students with little or no interest in computer science decreased by 23%.
• Students who were “pretty interested” in computer science decreased, but
this change might be attributed to the large increase in students “super
interested” in computer science.
• Student knowledge of basic computer science concepts increased by 66%
Although definitive conclusions cannot be made due to the separation* of pre- and post-
survey groups, the data seems to support that roadshow sessions are an effective tool for
increasing student interest in computer science.
*The demographics questions were combined over pre- and post- survey groups to capture an overall view of
participant diversity. The pre- and post- survey questions concerning student understanding of basic computer
science concepts and interest in computer science were kept separate in order to determine whether or not the
roadshow sessions impacted these factors.
60%
23%
22%
40%
33%