Project: Leveling the CS1 Playing Field
Project Leader: Gloria Childress
Computer Science I (CS1) is the first class that incoming students take, which creates a key opportunity for attracting female CS majors. The project uses a unique early intervention approach to increase the number of female CS majors. The project leader has organized several iterations (seven years) of the recruitment program at DePauw University (liberal arts institution) by sending a mailing to each first-year woman that consists of a brochure containing young CS women's "stories of success" and computing opportunities, along with an invitation to a CS1 preview that will teach women concepts that fill roughly the first week of CS1, using the customary laboratory setting. This invitation occurs just prior to registration.
Our treatment group contained 116 students; control group, 120. Our data analysis found 10% more women enrolled in CS1 classes after receiving the letter and brochure than enrolled in the classes whose female members did not receive the mailings. Recently, Indiana University (large research university) has modified the project for its students by sending the brochure and invitation to a subset (based upon SAT score) of its large, first-year class. Details of the long-term DePauw University project and the more recent Indiana University replication are in our paper from SIGCSE 2007.
Project Leader: Mary Anne Egan
Student IMPACT Career Exploration and Competition is a one day alternative programming contest designed to provide high school students who have demonstrated mathematical talent with an opportunity to explore some of the ways that college students and professionals think and work in computer science. Many students indicate that they never considered computer science as a major because they were unsure what computer scientists did for a living. Programming contests exist for those students who already are exposed to and are experienced in computer science. This alternative contest gives the same competitive spirit to the exploration of various areas of the computer science field.
Project Leader: Amy Wu
High school is a critical point in the pipeline where we lose many young women, in most cases due to misinformation or misperceptions about computer science. ACM-W wishes to reach out to this crucial group and one method is through the ComputerGirl website. This is a website that uniquely focuses on high school students and their interests. The purpose of ComputerGirl is to encourage high school students to major in computer science or at least acquire crucial computing knowledge and skills, to serve as a window for experts to communicate research and advice, and to share important resources and information. ComputerGirl also encourages students to take computer courses while in high school and to continue in this vein when they move on to higher education. The site contains around 175 role models and links to almost 150 web sites, statistics, job categories, articles, scholarships, and mentors.
Project Leader: Suzy Hoffman
High school ACM-W Chapters are similar to ACM-W Student Chapters but with a focus on young women in high school. Many young women opt out of computer science for reasons that are not related to their interest and capabilities. There is a need to reach this group. The goal of the high school chapters is to cultivate an interest in pursuing computer science as a career for women students at the high school level. The chapters will provide a variety of activities to educate women about the opportunities in the field of computing, engage women students in exciting computing activities, connect students with women leaders in the field, and promote the activities of ACM.
There is currently a chapter at Sanford Upper School.
Project Leader: Teri Perl
Pathways is an online virtual environment that encourages young women to continue their math and sciences studies by matching them with women scientists to serve as mentors through asynchronous online activities that center around women scientists and their discoveries. Pathways is an Internet-based mentor program where participants have access through a web browser that provides text-based information and graphics with point and click capabilities. ACM-W is supporting this project, housed within Math/Science Network (M/SN). M/SN is an organization that produces Expanding Your Horizons workshops all across the United States to encourage girls to pursue math and science. M/SN will provide access to more than 100,000 students and women scientists and provides a home for Pathways.