The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
The Big Idea
It doesn’t take long to help girls see a future for themselves in computer science, but it depends largely on how good their teachers are at recognizing the skills the girls have in coding, which is basically writing language for computers. We found that girls ages 10 to 12 can come to see themselves as coders in as little as a week. And there are diverse roles within the world of coding that allow girls with various personalities and skill sets to see themselves as coders. However, if educators recognize girls only for when they play a background role and help others, but not when they are more assertive and confident, then they may not develop their assertiveness and confidence in a way that enables them to succeed as coders.
To reach this conclusion, my colleagues and I focused on three girls from different backgrounds – one was Black, one was Hispanic and one was white – who participated in a one-week coding camp. We analyzed over 40 hours of video footage from the camp, interviews with the girls and open-ended survey responses to determine how the camp influenced each girl’s coding identity – that is, their sense of belonging in the field of computer science and their potential for future success.
We found that in order to develop a stronger coding identity, girls need to have opportunities to develop and perform coding skills. They also need to do so in front of people ..
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