The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science

Many stakeholders have suggested that if girls are not engaged in computer science at an early age, the field of computer science (CS) (and computing-related fields) will continue to lack gender diversity. We need more explorations of how curriculum impacts girls’ interest in computer science at the...

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Autores principales:	Anne T. Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Kyungbin Kwon, Thomas A. Brush, Michael Karlin, Minji Jeon, Katie Jantaraweragul, Meize Guo, Hamid Nadir, Fatih Gok, Parama Bhattacharya
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Elementary education Gender studies Teaching/learning strategies Electronic computers. Computer science QA75.5-76.95 Theory and practice of education LB5-3640
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f15ec02f220a46779b002b1ed62e7daf
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f15ec02f220a46779b002b1ed62e7daf2021-12-02T05:03:59ZThe impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science2666-557310.1016/j.caeo.2021.100057https://doaj.org/article/f15ec02f220a46779b002b1ed62e7daf2021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666557321000288https://doaj.org/toc/2666-5573Many stakeholders have suggested that if girls are not engaged in computer science at an early age, the field of computer science (CS) (and computing-related fields) will continue to lack gender diversity. We need more explorations of how curriculum impacts girls’ interest in computer science at the elementary level. The focus of this research project was to examine how an elementary problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum impacted girls’ understanding of and interest in CS. By utilizing a curriculum focused on a problem that emphasized social activism, we hypothesized that PBL CS could increase interest in CS for girls. This study used a mixed-method sequential explanatory research design to examine the implementation of a CS PBL curriculum with four 6th grade teachers and their 263 students. We collected student CS knowledge pre-tests and post-tests, student attitude surveys, student focus group interviews, teacher interviews, and researcher observation reflection notes. The knowledge tests were analyzed using a mixed measures ANOVA. The survey responses were analyzed using ANOVAs and effect sizes for each comparison were calculated using partial eta squared. The qualitative data was analyzed using a thematic approach that required four researchers to come to a consensus. Results suggested that although girls had less understanding of CS at the beginning, by the end of the curriculum, girls and boys performed similarly. However, there were still elements that were not successful. Girls’ attitudes towards computer science were significantly lower than the boys at the end of the curriculum. Conceptually, the curriculum needs to specifically address how CS could impact values held by girls.Anne T. Ottenbreit-LeftwichKyungbin KwonThomas A. BrushMichael KarlinMinji JeonKatie JantaraweragulMeize GuoHamid NadirFatih GokParama BhattacharyaElsevierarticleElementary educationGender studiesTeaching/learning strategiesElectronic computers. Computer scienceQA75.5-76.95Theory and practice of educationLB5-3640ENComputers and Education Open, Vol 2, Iss , Pp 100057- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Elementary education Gender studies Teaching/learning strategies Electronic computers. Computer science QA75.5-76.95 Theory and practice of education LB5-3640
spellingShingle	Elementary education Gender studies Teaching/learning strategies Electronic computers. Computer science QA75.5-76.95 Theory and practice of education LB5-3640 Anne T. Ottenbreit-Leftwich Kyungbin Kwon Thomas A. Brush Michael Karlin Minji Jeon Katie Jantaraweragul Meize Guo Hamid Nadir Fatih Gok Parama Bhattacharya The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science
description	Many stakeholders have suggested that if girls are not engaged in computer science at an early age, the field of computer science (CS) (and computing-related fields) will continue to lack gender diversity. We need more explorations of how curriculum impacts girls’ interest in computer science at the elementary level. The focus of this research project was to examine how an elementary problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum impacted girls’ understanding of and interest in CS. By utilizing a curriculum focused on a problem that emphasized social activism, we hypothesized that PBL CS could increase interest in CS for girls. This study used a mixed-method sequential explanatory research design to examine the implementation of a CS PBL curriculum with four 6th grade teachers and their 263 students. We collected student CS knowledge pre-tests and post-tests, student attitude surveys, student focus group interviews, teacher interviews, and researcher observation reflection notes. The knowledge tests were analyzed using a mixed measures ANOVA. The survey responses were analyzed using ANOVAs and effect sizes for each comparison were calculated using partial eta squared. The qualitative data was analyzed using a thematic approach that required four researchers to come to a consensus. Results suggested that although girls had less understanding of CS at the beginning, by the end of the curriculum, girls and boys performed similarly. However, there were still elements that were not successful. Girls’ attitudes towards computer science were significantly lower than the boys at the end of the curriculum. Conceptually, the curriculum needs to specifically address how CS could impact values held by girls.
format	article
author	Anne T. Ottenbreit-Leftwich Kyungbin Kwon Thomas A. Brush Michael Karlin Minji Jeon Katie Jantaraweragul Meize Guo Hamid Nadir Fatih Gok Parama Bhattacharya
author_facet	Anne T. Ottenbreit-Leftwich Kyungbin Kwon Thomas A. Brush Michael Karlin Minji Jeon Katie Jantaraweragul Meize Guo Hamid Nadir Fatih Gok Parama Bhattacharya
author_sort	Anne T. Ottenbreit-Leftwich
title	The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science
title_short	The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science
title_full	The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science
title_fullStr	The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science
title_full_unstemmed	The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science
title_sort	impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f15ec02f220a46779b002b1ed62e7daf
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The impact of an issue-centered problem-based learning curriculum on 6th grade girls’ understanding of and interest in computer science

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