Board 306: Improving Retention Rate and Success in Computer Science Scholars

Jung Won Hur; Cassandra Thomas; Li Huang; Xiao Chang

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 8
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46884

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Paper Authors

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Jung Won Hur Auburn University

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Dr. Jung Won Hur is a professor in the Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology at Auburn University. Her research interests encompass computer science education, diversity in STEM, culturally responsive teaching, and emerging technology integration in the classroom.

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Cassandra Thomas Tuskegee University

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Dr. Cassandra Thomas is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Tuskegee University. She earned a BS (from TU) and an MS in Computer Science and an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law. She worked 5 years as a software engineer before returning to TU as a faculty member. She has used the skill and knowledge obtained to research and implement programs that seek to address and increase the enrollment, retention, and graduation of African American students in STEM disciplines - with a focus on CS. At TU, she is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department and the Assistant Dean in the College of Business and Information Science. As a faculty member, she teaches computer programming courses, mentors / advises freshman /first-year students, and designs extracurricular activities and programs that engage and develop CS students’ leadership skills. In addition to teaching and advising students, she has worked to nurture and retain students who demonstrate high academic achievement and financial need and to teach STEM-related skills and cybersecurity issues via Mobile App development.

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Li Huang Tuskegee University

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Li Huang, associate professor in department of psychology and sociology at Tuskegee University. She earned her doctorate at Auburn University in 2007. Her research mainly focus on minority students academic achievement and success, STEM field retention for minority serving institution.

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Xiao Chang Tuskegee University

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Dr. Xiao Chang is an assistant professor of computer science at Tuskegee University. His research areas include machine learning, deep learning, healthcare data analytics, and biomedical image analysis. He is currently the PI of two NSF funded projects and Co-PI of three NSF and NIH funded projects and committed to computer science education and workforce development.

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Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to share our ongoing efforts in support for S-STEM scholars and to highlight the lessons learned. The NSF S-STEM program is designed to empower academically gifted, low-income students to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. In August 2022, the Computer Science (CS) department at Tuskegee University (TU) was awarded a S-STEM grant, and we successfully recruited and retained the first cohort of six talented, low-income, first-year African American students in 2023. Over the past year, we have provided a series of mentoring and professional development opportunities to the S-STEM scholars to support their personal and professional growth and foster their leadership skills. Several of these opportunities were extended to the entire TU community to maximize the program’s impact. Our efforts include the following. First, we established a mentoring program in which successful senior students, who recently secured positions in major technology companies and government agencies, or entered graduate schools, met with the S-STEM scholars. They shared their life stories and provided tips on college life and career development. Second, to help first-year CS students overcome coding barriers, we offered an introductory coding seminar series called “Begin to Code” (B2C). B2C aimed to boost confidence and persistence among scholars and other CS students by incorporating Apple’s Sphero Bolt and iPad. Three first-year S-STEM scholars were actively involved in designing and teaching the seminars, which provides them with professional and leadership development opportunities. Additionally, the B2C seminar contributed to the recruitment of the second cohort of S-STEM scholars. First-year students who attended the seminar had the opportunity to interact with previous S-STEM scholars and the project leader, gaining a better understanding of the program’s benefits and requirements. Third, to bridge the gap between the computer science curriculum of TU and the skills needed for learning AI and data science, we conducted a series of Python coding seminars open to the entire TU community. These seminars were taught by two CS juniors with internship experience at big tech companies, fostering strong connections between S-STEM scholars and junior CS students while also exposing other students to Python coding. Fourth, to nurture the leadership skills of our scholars, we provided them with opportunities, such as mentoring high school students attending a summer academy supported by another NSF project. Additionally, these scholars hosted booth activities on TU STEM day to introduce local high school students to CS in a fun and engaging manner. The program evaluation of these initiatives demonstrated valuable impact. For example, a total of 13 first-year students participated in the first B2C seminar and continued to engage in activities every two weeks. Eleven students, including five S-STEM scholars, attended the first Python seminar. Some students whose majors were not CS also benefited from these efforts. However, we also encountered several challenges. The number of participants in each seminar decreased over time due to competing school events and other course commitments. We continue to explore ways to adjust the program to better support each of the S-STEM scholars.

Citation
Format

Hur, J. W., & Thomas, C., & Huang, L., & Chang, X. (2024, June), Board 306: Improving Retention Rate and Success in Computer Science Scholars Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46884

TY - CPAPER
AB - The purpose of this presentation is to share our ongoing efforts in support for S-STEM scholars and to highlight the lessons learned. The NSF S-STEM program is designed to empower academically gifted, low-income students to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. In August 2022, the Computer Science (CS) department at Tuskegee University (TU) was awarded a S-STEM grant, and we successfully recruited and retained the first cohort of six talented, low-income, first-year African American students in 2023. Over the past year, we have provided a series of mentoring and professional development opportunities to the S-STEM scholars to support their personal and professional growth and foster their leadership skills. Several of these opportunities were extended to the entire TU community to maximize the program’s impact.
Our efforts include the following. First, we established a mentoring program in which successful senior students, who recently secured positions in major technology companies and government agencies, or entered graduate schools, met with the S-STEM scholars. They shared their life stories and provided tips on college life and career development. Second, to help first-year CS students overcome coding barriers, we offered an introductory coding seminar series called “Begin to Code” (B2C). B2C aimed to boost confidence and persistence among scholars and other CS students by incorporating Apple’s Sphero Bolt and iPad. Three first-year S-STEM scholars were actively involved in designing and teaching the seminars, which provides them with professional and leadership development opportunities. Additionally, the B2C seminar contributed to the recruitment of the second cohort of S-STEM scholars. First-year students who attended the seminar had the opportunity to interact with previous S-STEM scholars and the project leader, gaining a better understanding of the program’s benefits and requirements. Third, to bridge the gap between the computer science curriculum of TU and the skills needed for learning AI and data science, we conducted a series of Python coding seminars open to the entire TU community. These seminars were taught by two CS juniors with internship experience at big tech companies, fostering strong connections between S-STEM scholars and junior CS students while also exposing other students to Python coding. Fourth, to nurture the leadership skills of our scholars, we provided them with opportunities, such as mentoring high school students attending a summer academy supported by another NSF project. Additionally, these scholars hosted booth activities on TU STEM day to introduce local high school students to CS in a fun and engaging manner.
The program evaluation of these initiatives demonstrated valuable impact. For example, a total of 13 first-year students participated in the first B2C seminar and continued to engage in activities every two weeks. Eleven students, including five S-STEM scholars, attended the first Python seminar. Some students whose majors were not CS also benefited from these efforts. However, we also encountered several challenges. The number of participants in each seminar decreased over time due to competing school events and other course commitments. We continue to explore ways to adjust the program to better support each of the S-STEM scholars.

AU - Jung Won Hur
AU - Cassandra Thomas
AU - Li Huang
AU - Xiao Chang
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Board 306: Improving Retention Rate and Success in Computer Science Scholars
UR - https://peer.asee.org/46884
ER -