2017 BRAID Funders Report - DRAFT - AnitaB.org · 2019-08-23 · BRAID Year 3 Annual Report, August...

BRAIDYear3AnnualReport,August2017 1

ProjectOverviewTheBRAID(Building,RecruitingAndInclusionforDiversity)initiativeisledbytheAnitaBorgInstitute(ABI)andHarveyMuddCollege.Itaddressesthelackofdiversityincomputerscience(CS)departmentsandspecificallylooksattheunderrepresentationofwomenandracial/ethnicminorities.Undertheleadershipoftheirdepartmentchairs,15CSdepartmentshavecommittedtoimplementingpracticessuchasthoseinitiatedatHarveyMuddCollegeandtheUniversityofWashington(BRAIDBeaconschools).1Concurrently,aresearchteamatUCLAisleadingamulti-institutional,mixed-methodsstudytoexaminethedepartmentalchangeprocessandidentifybestpracticesforattractingandretainingwomenandunderrepresentedminoritiesincomputing.BRAIDYears1-3StrategicInvestorsincludeFacebook,Google,Intel,andMicrosoft.AdditionalfundingisprovidedbytheComputingResearchAssociationandtheNationalScienceFoundation.AsofJuly2017,BRAIDcompletedthethirdyearofthe3-yearpilotproject.Todate,MicrosoftandQualcommhavecommittedfundingfortheprogramtocontinueanadditional3years,withadditionalStrategicInvestorscurrentlyindiscussion.AchievingadiverseCSundergraduatedepartmentthrough4BRAIDCommitmentsEachBRAIDschoolisimplementinganumberofcommitmentsdemonstratedbytheBeaconschoolsinordertoincreasethenumberofwomenandunderrepresentedminorities(URMs)intheirundergraduateCSdepartments.2SeeTable1belowforspecificactionsBRAIDschoolsaretakingtoimplementBRAIDcommitments.

Commitment1:ModifyintroductoryCScoursestoappealtounderrepresentedstudents.• 80%ofBRAIDSchoolsmodifiedtheirintroductoryCScoursetoengagemoreinexperiencedstudents

Commitment2:Leadoutreachprogramsforhighschoolteachersandstudents.• 53%ofBRAIDschoolsprovidedprofessionaldevelopmentforhighschoolteachers• 67%ofBRAIDschoolssponsoredsummercampsorafter-schoolprogramsforgirls• 27%ofBRAIDschoolssponsoredsummercampsorafter-schoolprogramsforURMstudents

Commitment3:Buildconfidenceandcommunityamongunderrepresentedstudents.• 100%ofBRAIDschoolshavestudentgroupsforwomenincomputing• 47%ofBRAIDschoolshavestudentgroupsforunderrepresentedminoritiesincomputing• 60%ofBRAIDschoolshavementoringprogramsforstudentsincomputing• >350studentsfromBRAIDschoolsattendedthe2016GraceHopperCelebration

Commitment4:Developand/orpromotejointmajorsinareaslikeCSandbiologythatareattractivetounderrepresentedstudents.• 40%ofBRAIDschoolsofferaninterdisciplinarymajorcombiningcomputingwithanotherfield• 73%ofBRAIDschoolsofferinterdisciplinarycomputingcourses

1SeeAppendixforacompletelistofparticipatingacademicinstitutionsandnonprofitpartners.2QuantitativeandqualitativedatainthissectioncomesfromasurveyadministeredtoBRAIDschoolsinJune2017.


Table1:Actionseachofthe15BRAIDschoolsaretakingtoimplementthe4BRAIDCommitments Modifying introductory CS courses Conducting outreach to

high school teachers and students

Building confidence and community among under-represented students

Developing and/or promoting joint majors (e.g., CS and Biology)

Uni

vers

ity o

f Ver

mon

t

• Students divide into two sections depending on their experience level so that less experienced students are in a setting where they feel more comfortable asking questions; grade distribution is similar between the two sections and there is an increase in students opting to major / minor in CS from inexperienced group

• Class time includes pair-programming activities

• Host annual CS Fair that local high school classes participate in

• Participate in FIRST Robotics

• Started a Girls Who Code chapter

• Organize annual Agile Codefest • Offer career development

support services (e.g., resume prep, mock interviews)

• Support activities for Society of Women in CS

• Send students to GHC

• Created a new BS in Data Science, a new MS in Complex Systems and Data Science; in its first year, the BS program had 35% women and MS had 50% women.

• In process of creating a new PhD in Complex Systems and Data Science

Uni

vers

ity o

f Wis

cons

in,

Milw

auke

e

• Instructor is approachable • All instructors encouraged to use “CS

Teaching Tips”

• Run weekly Girls Who Code program for high school and middle school girls

• Received NSF grant to train teachers in CS

• Prepping to teach a class of 5th graders (mostly URM students) coding this fall

• Started a chapter of Women in Computing (WiC)

• WiC partners with another CS student group to host a hackathon

• Send students to GHC

• With the Library School, designing a new MS Information Systems Technology program

• Collaborating with atmospheric sciences program on new Data Science program

Uni

vers

ity o

f Neb

rask

a,

Lin

coln

• Incorporating problems with real-world connections that students can solve in teams

• Hired an education researcher to study 1st year course and recommend modifications, which include hiring female TAs and organizing small sections for particular cohorts of students

• Working on curriculum approaches with CSTA in Nebraska

• Trained math teachers to teach robotics in primary school

• Taught after-school coding and robotics camps focused on title I middle schools

• Have CSE Ambassadors group focused on “doing good” in the community and Computing for All Group (a chapter of ACM-W)

• Student groups collaborate on K12 outreach initiatives

• Initiated discussions about university-wide “Informatics Initiative” to create a number of majors with a computational / algorithmic / information-based core curriculum that are interdisciplinary


Modifying introductory CS courses Conducting outreach to high school teachers and students



New

Jer

sey

Inst

itute

of

Tec

hnol

ogy

• Switched to an open source textbook using Python

• Removed “demotivating” teachers and ensured intro courses are taught by teachers who excel

• Curriculum includes content on establishing good study habits for CS as well as on how computing can be translated into a career

• “Outreach assistants” visiting close to 30 local K12 schools

• Teaching Python to high school students

• Running a Girls Who Code chapter

• Summer program for high school teachers to attend intro CS course side-by-side freshmen

• Created three computing clubs (ACM-W student chapter, graduate Women in Computing Society, and undergraduate Women in Computing Society)

• Arranged visits to Google and Facebook in NYC where students were encouraged to apply for jobs / internships

• Currently in discussion with the Humanities department to create a joint major

Uni

vers

ity o

f Illi

nois

, C

hica

go

• Students divide into two sections depending on their experience level so that less experienced students are in a setting where they feel more comfortable asking questions

• Intro CS for those with less experience introduced in conjunction with other subject areas (e.g., biology, law)

• Emphasize active learning, primarily via peer instruction

• Open house events to highlight Women in Computer Science groups

• Social engineering of student learning groups to ensure that they do not have just one female or URM student; they have at least two to reduce feelings of isolation

• In the process of creating a Bioinformatics major

Vill

anov

a U

nive

rsity

• New introductory course using Python but covering same concepts in algorithms and data structures as existing course

• Presented a few times to local high schools

• Sending students to conferences aimed at underrepresented groups in computing (i.e., GHC, NSBE, and Tapia)

• Offer two courses jointly with biology and with the French and Francophile major

• Working towards a data science program





Uni

vers

ity o

f M

aryl

and,

Col

lege

Pa

rk

• Revised content topics, pedagogical methods, and division of content between lecture and lab

• Changes in management and structure of TA support and office hours in response to significant enrollment growth

• Received multiple grants to work with K12 teachers

• Host NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award

• Run computing camp for middle school girls

• Running a tutoring program for underrepresented students in CS

• Association of Women in Computing student group had significant growth over last year

• Hosted the 1st annual Diversity in Computing Summit

• Hosted largest all-female hackathon in the US

• Started designing Computational Biology Major; two of the courses have already been developed and taught

Ari

zona

Sta

te

Uni

vers

ity

• Regularly reviewing / improving courses but no major changes implemented

• Run summer camps for middle and high school students in robotics, application development and gaming

• Offer professional development for teachers

• Run events and mixers to engage underrepresented populations

• Students are able to go through a petition process to do concurrent majors in computing and another major, but no formal joint major program

Uni

vers

ity o

f N

orth

Tex

as

• Identified students from underrepresented groups to serve as peer mentors

• Increased overall number of peer mentors

• DFW rate of intro course has been decreasing

• Participate in NCWIT Aspirations in Computing

• Run a summer camp in cybersecurity

• Summer training workshop for teachers on CS Principles

• Women in Computing student group is very active

• Female computing students are also active and holding leadership roles in NSBE, SHPE, and SWE

• Send students and faculty to GHC

• Established three undergraduate multidisciplinary courses (Introduction to Computational Life Science, BioComputing, and Computational Epidemiology)





Uni

vers

ity o

f M

aryl

and

Bal

timor

e C

ount

y • Students divide into two sections depending on their experience level so that less experienced students are in a setting where they feel more comfortable asking questions

• Built in additional “help” sessions in smaller discussion groups for those with less experience

• Organizing opportunities for faculty and undergraduates to talk with high school students

• Runs various scholar programs that are committed to engaging underrepresented groups where scholars live together, participate in community building events, and structured outreach to non-scholars; retention rate of scholars is >90%

• Working with senior administrators and the Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences to explore developing a CS minor for students in that college

Uni

vers

ity o

f Tex

as, E

l Pa

so

• Flipped classroom approach with help of videos and other online resources

• Revised course outcomes to focus on the broader computational thinking picture rather than specific programming details

• Used problem-solving and cooperative learning pedagogical approaches

• Instructors taking part in professional development to better equip them to improve courses

• Developing trainings for middle school and high school teachers

• Participate in NCWIT Aspirations in Computing

• Students prepare demonstrations and activities to recruit K12 students into the major

• Started an Innovation through Diversity and Inclusion Film Series – Muestra de Cine Innovacion a traves de Inclusion y Diversidad

• Conducting an ethnographic study which includes focus groups with CS1 students to understand how students perceive their role and its wider value to the department

• Established bioinformatics and computational science programs

• In discussion with College of Business to collaborate on data analytics / machine learning courses

Uni

vers

ity o

f So

uth

Car

olin

a • Incorporated pair-programming • Women in Computing members regularly visit local middle and high schools

• Started a Minorities in Computing group

• Sent students to Tapia • Sent student researchers to

various research conferences

• Established an Applied Computing minor that matches up with several other disciplines

• Developed a minor in Data Science jointly with the Department of Statistics





Uni

vers

ity o

f Cal

iforn

ia, I

rvin

e • Designed various versions of course for those with more or less background in computing

• Implemented optional study groups that are facilitated by upperclassman

• Hosted professional development workshops for high school teachers

• Run CS workshops for middle and high school girls

• Hosted train-the-trainer workshop for high school and community college teachers on using Arduino and Raspberry Pi platforms

• Student groups have very strong community (Women in Information and Computer Sciences, NSBE, SHPE)

• Each student group has an industry mentoring program, peer mentoring program, company visits and career development workshops

• Introduced a Data Science major (joint between CS and Statistics) and a Computer Game Science major (joint between CS and the Arts)

• Have joint major with School of Business (BIM), which is ~50% women

Uni

vers

ity o

f R

oche

ster

• Restructured intro course early in BRAID that positively impacted diversity

• Implemented changes to grading and curricular design in response to growth in enrollment

• Female students visiting local middle and high schools to expose them to CS

• Women in Computing Group has grown

• Larger percent of TAs and workshop leaders are now women, and they serve as role models for younger students

• Developing mentoring program and other activities for URMs

• Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Linguistics, and Brain and Cognitive Sciences have computational courses

• Students have access to interdisciplinary research opportunities

Mis

sour

i U

nive

rsity

of

Scie

nce

&

Tec

hnol

ogy

• Curriculum includes more cross-disciplinary examples / applications with broader impacts (e.g., computational biology, healthcare)

• Outreach to middle school teachers and principals

• Running coding classes in after-school programs

• ACM-W chapter organizes activities for women and URM students

• Working toward inter-disciplinary majors involving other departments on such topics as bioinformatics, cyber-physical systems, and data science and engineering


BRAIDschoolsarealsocommittedtohavingmorefemalefaculty• UniversityofVermonthirednewfemalefaculty;in2016-2017,thefacultyinthe

departmentwere50%female(includingthechair)and50%men.• NewJerseyInstituteofTechnologyhasdoubledtheirnumberoffemalefacultyand

tripledthenumberoffemalelecturers.Duringtheirinterviewprocess,~50%ofcandidatesinterviewedwerefemale.

• UniversityofNorthTexashired4womenfacultyinFall2016andnowhave~1/3tenure-trackpositionsheldbywomen.

• AtUniversityofTexas,ElPaso,one-thirdoftheCSfacultyarefemale.• AtUniversityofSouthCarolina,onecomputingfacultymemberwasappointed

AssociateDeanforDiversity,EngagementandInclusion.

DataanalyzedbytheBRAIDResearchteamshowspositivetrendsAteamofresearchersatUCLAledbyDr.LindaSax,ProfessorintheGraduateSchoolofEducationandInformationStudies,iscollectingdatafromthe15BRAIDschoolstoansweravarietyofresearchquestionsrelatedtothedepartmentalchangeprocessandbestpracticesforattractingandretainingwomenandURMsincomputingmajors.Belowaresomerecenthighlightsfromtheirdata.BRAIDschoolsareseeinganincreaseinthepercentageofwomenandunderrepresentedminoritiesenrolledintheirundergraduatecomputingcourses

• Acrossinstitutions,thenumberofcomputingmajorsincreasedby30.5%from2014to2017(15,418to20,125students).Therelativeincreaseofwomen(50.6%)islargerthanformen(26.9%).Thistranslatestoa2.3%increaseintherepresentationofwomenincomputingfrom2014to2017.Atindividualinstitutions,thisincreaserangedfrom0.3to5.8%.

• URMgroupsarealsoexperiencingincreasedenrollmentatafasterratethancertainmajoritygroups.From2014to2017,BRAIDschoolsexperiencedarelativeincreaseof34.9%forHispanic/Latinastudentsand24.3%forblackstudentsversus23.7%increaseforwhitestudents.Thistranslatestoa0.7%increaseintherepresentationofURMsincomputingfrom2014to2017.Atindividualinstitutions,thischangeover3yearsrangedfrom-6.0to9.1%withsomeinstitutionsexperiencingadeclineinrepresentationofURMs.

BRAIDschoolsareintheprocessofachievingdepartmentalchange• TheBRAIDresearchteamisassessinghoweachdepartmentisprogressingusingtheTheoryof

InstitutionalChangeframeworkwhichviewsorganizationstransformingtheirpracticesbygoingthroughthreestages:1)Mobilization,2)Implementation,and3)Institutionalization.

• DatacollectedfrominterviewswithdepartmentchairsshowthatBRAIDschoolshavebuiltupawarenessofthediversityeffortsandarenowattheImplementationphasewheretheyareputtinginplacenewcourses,activitiesandsupportsystems.

• MoretimeisneededtoreachtheInstitutionalizationphasewherediversityinitiativesbecomeacentralcomponentofdepartmentalproceduresandmission.

HowstudentsandfacultyexperiencetheintroductoryCScourse• 42.9%ofBRAIDstudentsusedJavaand40.5%usedPythonintheirintrocourse.


• Students’perceptionsoftheirinstructoraregenerallyfavorable.• Overall,instructorsholdbeliefsassociatedwithagrowthmindset.85%ofinstructorsbelieve

“Allstudentshavethepotentialtoexcelin[intro]course.”• Studentsgenerallyreportedthattheirintrocoursewasuseful.Evenamongnon-computing

majors,over60%agreedorstronglyagreedthattheirintroductorycoursewasusefulforpotentialjobopportunities.

Introductorycoursestudents’recruitmenttoandretentionincomputingmajors• 40%ofundecidedstudents(studentswhohaveyettodecideonamajor)atBRAIDschoolschose

acomputingmajorbytheendoftheirintroductoryCSclass.Withwomenbeingwell-representedamongundecidedstudents,thissuggestsBRAIDschoolscanfocuseffortsonundecidedstudentstorecruitmorewomentothemajor.

• Socialconnectionswithclassmatesisthemostimportantaspectofundecidedstudents’introductorycourseexperienceintheirdecisiontochooseacomputingmajor.

• Studentswhofeelsupportedbytheirpeerstendtoalsohaveagreatersenseofbelongingincomputingattheendoftheintroductorycourse.

• Amongstudentswhohadalreadydecidedonacomputingmajor,three-quarterswerestillcomputingmajorsayearaftertakingtheintroductorycourse.Thisindicatesthatthevastmajorityofintroductorycomputingstudentsareretainedinthemajor.

Researchinthecomingmonthswillfocusonthespecificcomputingenvironmentsthatcontributetopositiveoutcomes.AdditionalfindingsandpublicationsabouttheresearchprojectcanbefoundontheBRAIDResearchwebsite.StoriesofhowBRAIDisimpactingstudentsonthegroundBelowarefirsthandstoriesfromBRAIDdepartmentchairsandotheradministratorsdescribinghowtheBRAIDinitiativeisimpactingindividualstudentsatasampleoftheBRAIDinstitutions.Ihaveseenseveralyoungwomenbecomeengagedinleadershiprolesinournewdiversity/outreachorientedstudentorganizations.ThiswouldneverhavehappenedpriortoBRAIDbecausetheexistingorganizationsweremaledominated...Theseyoungwomenhavegrownfromshyattendeesatmeetings,toleaderswho…rallyotherstotheircause.

-DepartmentChair,UniversityofNebraska,LincolnWhenIhireoutreachassistants,inevery‘yearlybatch,’Iamincludingonefemalestudentwho,atfirstsight,‘doesnotfitthebill.’Inormallylookforwell-spoken,self-confident,outgoingstudents...But,Ihireonestudent(peryear)whohas…awillingnesstolearn.InonecaseIspecificallyenjoyedthetransformationofashygirlintoaconfident‘adult…’WhenItoldherthefirsttimethatshewouldstandinfrontofhighschoolstudentsandtalkaboutcomputing,shetoldmeinatonewithmorethanalittlefearinit‘whatamIgoingtosay’?Itoldherthis:‘Iamold,Iamwhite,Iammale.IfIstepinfrontofahighschoolclassofgirlsandsay‘Ididcomputerscienceandsocanyou,’itmeansNOTHING.Ifyoustepinfrontofahighschoolclassofgirlsandsay‘Ididcomputerscienceandsocanyou,’itmeanstheworld…Overthecomingweeksand


monthsIsawsuchachangeinher.Justthewayshewasemailingtomebecamedifferent,professional,mature...Igavesomebodyachanceandshetookitandranwithit.Ichangedalife.

-AssociateDeanforResearchoftheCollegeofComputingSciences,NewJerseyInstituteofTechnology

AnAfricanAmericanfemalestudentinourdepartmentwhoteachesinourK-12outreachprograms…washavingdifficultyinthemajor(hadnoCSpreparationbeforecomingtocampus)…AfterattendingtheGraceHopperConferencewithus,shegotinvolvedintheoutreachprogramsformiddleschoolgirls-teachinginthesummercampandintheafterschoolprograms.Shesaidthatbyexplainingthetopicstoothers,shebecamemoreconfidentinwhatsheknew,andhasbeenabletosuccessfullycompleteallofthelowerlevelcourses-abouttostarttheupperlevelelectives-andsheisnowconfidentinherdecisiontostayinthecomputersciencemajor.

-DepartmentChair,UniversityofMaryland,CollegePark[Studentname]isfromThailandanddidn'tintendtomajorinCSCwhenshearrivedatRochester.ShehadplannedtobeastudioartsmajorandtominorinCSC.ShewenttoGHCasasophomorewithoutmuchcourseworkanddidn'tlandaninternshipduetoherlackofcourseexperienceandconfidence.However,shedeclaredherCSCmajor,becamepartofour[WomeninComputing]group,andeventuallyassumedtheroleasExecutiveDirectorfor2016-2017.Underherleadership,shebroughtanewenergytothegroup,usedherwebskillstoupdatethe[UniversityofRochesterWomeninComputing]webpages,andcreatedacartoondepictionofGraceHopperandherimpactoncomputingfortheUniversity'salumnimagazine.

-DepartmentChair,UniversityofRochesterBRAIDinthenewsMostcomputersciencemajorsintheU.S.aremen.NotsoatHarveyMudd.LosAngelesTimes,Jan4,2017BRAIDInitiative:PositioningCSDepartmentstoBetterServeWomenandUnderrepresentedMinorities.DiversityinAction,April2017.BRAIDmovesforwardtoextendthe3-yearpilotinitiativeEncouragedbyenthusiasticengagementfromtheBRAIDdepartmentchairsaswellaspositivepreliminaryresearchresults,theBRAIDleadershipteamisplanningtoextendthispilotinitiativeforanotherthreeyears.Thegoalistocontinuefocusingonthe15primaryBRAIDinstitutions(basedontheexperienceofBRAIDBeaconschools,weknowittakesatleast5-7yearstoseesignificantincreasesintherepresentationofwomen)andtocontinuetoengageadditionalschoolsthroughtheBRAIDAffiliatesprogram.MicrosoftandQualcommhavecommittedfundingfor2017-2020.Theleadershipteamisactivelypursuingtwotothreeadditionalfunders.TheBRAIDresearchteamwillfocusonfollow-upsurveyswithstudentsfromthepasttwoyears’cohortsofintroductoryCScourses.Theywillalsobefurtherdissectingenrollment/registrardatatolookatdetailsofvarioussubgroups.Pendingadditionalgrantsupport,theywillbeconductingfollow-upinterviewswithdepartmentchairs.


AppendixParticipatingschools/organizationsBRAIDschoolsBRAIDschoolsarethe15institutionsthatarereceivingfundingtoimplementthefourBRAIDcommitmentstoincreasediversityintheirCSdepartments.ArizonaStateUniversity,MissouriUniversityofScienceandTechnology,NewJerseyInstituteofTechnology,UniversityofCalifornia-Irvine,UniversityofIllinoisatChicago,UniversityofMaryland–BaltimoreCounty,UniversityofMaryland–CollegePark,UniversityofNebraska,UniversityofNorthTexas,UniversityofRochester,UniversityofSouthCarolina,UniversityofTexas-ElPaso,UniversityofVermont,UniversityofWisconsin-Milwaukee,andVillanovaUniversityBRAIDBeaconschoolsBeaconschoolsareinstitutionsthathavealreadyimplementedsuccessfulinitiativestoincreasethediversityofstudentsintheirCSdepartments.TheyserveasmodelsforBRAIDschools.HarveyMuddCollege,UniversityofBritishColumbia,UniversityofWashington,andCaliforniaPolytechnicStateUniversity-SanLuisObispo2017BRAIDAffiliateschoolsAffiliatesareinstitutionsthatareworkingtowardimplementingBRAIDcommitmentstoincreasediversityintheirCSdepartmentsbutarenotreceivingfunding.Currently,theyparticipatewithBRAIDonaone-yearbasisthroughattendingtheannualBRAIDSummit.Cal-StateUniversity,LongBeach,DukeUniversity,McGillUniversity,RiceUniversity,SanFranciscoStateUniversity,UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,UniversityofFlorida,UniversityofMinnesota,TwinCities,UniversityofSt.Andrews,ScotlandNonprofitPartnersNationalCenterforWomen&InformationTechnology(NCWIT)CenterforMinoritiesandPeoplewithDisabilities(CMD-IT)

2017 BRAID Funders Report - DRAFT - AnitaB.org · 2019-08-23 · BRAID Year 3 Annual Report, August...

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