Developing the tools and methodologies to benchmark, evaluate, and examine identity-inclusive computing education.
To gain an accurate and thorough understanding of the current state of the field and assess progress over time, the AiiCE Research Constellation is pioneering research on race; cultural competence; degree entry, retention, and completion; and department climate.
High School Activities
To effectively support the professional learning of K-12 CS teachers and development of IIC curricula, pedagogy, and policy, the Alliance must better understand teachers as well as their contexts, needs, and abilities on an ongoing basis. CSTA and the Kapor Center is distributing a biennial, national survey of K-12 CS teachers to understand teacher cultural competence and knowledge and use of identity-inclusive strategies.
Postsecondary Activities
The 3C Assessment calculates individual cultural competence scores based on participant (faculty/student) responses. Scores are mapped to the six stages of cultural competence (cultural destructiveness, incapacity, blindness, pre-competence, competence, and proficiency). Individual scores are used to assess the overall cultural competence of a course/department. The instrument can be used to study the impact and effectiveness of course/department interventions and complement retention/degree analysis
This work will strengthen understanding of CS entry, retention, and degree attainment by 1) developing an online tool that performs by-cohort analysis to assess institutional performance relative to nationwide norms, 2) Evaluating departmental retention [specifically, from CS1 to CS2 and from CS1 to the CS major (where possible, performing by-cohort analysis)], 3) Performing a comprehensive by-cohort analysis of national data on CS intent to major, generated by national surveys of entering first-year college students and comparing to analyses of other disciplines, 4) Performing analysis of the four-year stagger, comparing intent to major with earned CS degrees.