Recruiting Messages for More and Different students Joanne McGrath Cohoon Carolyn Vallas Recruiting Messages for More and Different students

We will discuss research & practice Examples of effective recruiting Leveraging your assets Identifying your audience Analyzing your audience Practice tailoring your message

You face real barriers NCLB / SOLs Opportunity for electives College admission criteria Uninformed counselors Stereotypes So, recruiting is necessary But, how to do it?

Two audiences: Girls and their influencers Family Friends Other teachers Counselors Coaches Group leaders Celebrities Boys College-bound girls Vocational track Honor Society Math class Math club Chess club Sports teams Music & Art Friendship groups Think broadly about potential audiences Go beyond geek

Analyze your audience What does your target group believe, value now? How can you fit these beliefs / meet these needs? What are the target group’s competing goals? e.g., Interest in saving the planet e.g., Desire to spend time with friends What influences their behavior? How can you overcome their objections? e.g., CS is too hard and will jeopardize my GPA

What might they think CS is? Boring Hard Machine-focused No jobs Unknown Women who are in CS think it is Using computers to solve problems 26% Intersection of people + computers computers + other fields using machines to do human activities 19% Using machines for improving human life Source: Grace Hopper 2004 Survey

What do girls want to do when they grow up? These goals appear to compete with computing but you could align them with computing Source: 715 survey responses from middle school girls at a science, technology, engineering recruiting event

What influenced CS majors? Women More than Men Source: Focus groups with 182 CS students in 16 programs Path to a helping occupation Defy stereotypes View computing as communication Self-expression through computing Persuaded by friends Another way to identify characteristics of women who could be successful in your program is to look at the women who are there now. According to focus groups with undergraduates in 16 computer science departments, they were drawn to computing in many aspects by the same things that drew their male classmates, and in some ways that were specific to the women. The similarities and differences in these experiences give clues about what could bring more women into computing. When you understand who enters and succeeds in your own program, you can use that information to replicate the process. Positive computing experiences Encouraged Rewarding flexible career Math or logic confidence Enjoy programming Men and Women

Do most 15 year-old girls want to grow up to be Dilbert??? Defy stereotypes?? Beware of communicating or reinforcing stereotypes Do most 15 year-old girls want to grow up to be Dilbert???

What influences their behavior? Not platitudes Listen and observe to learn about individual influencers

Typical teen girl influencers Belonging, with potential to have status in the group So, recruit groups instead of individuals Role fulfillment - conforming to expectations that others have of someone in my position So, talk about ways computing is social and helps people

Overcome objections and biases We attend to what we already believe or want to believe In a 1-1 conversation using student’s name Listen and acknowledge student’s expressed beliefs – “I understand why you think that CS is …” Offer persuasive evidence – “… but can I show you the actual numbers?” or “but can I tell you about my former students?” Assure the student s/he can succeed Don’t let refusal be permanent – “Can we talk again before you choose your courses for next year?” “Consider for college”

Leverage your existing assets Too much to do all by yourself? You wouldn’t start a research project without knowing what’s already been done. Start your recruiting initiative by knowing what is being done locally.

What assets do you have? Alumni Parents of former students After-School Programs e.g., Girl Scouts Recruiting Materials, Information from National Sources (e.g., NCWIT, CSTA) ???

Examples of effective Recruiting through pre- College programs Carolyn Vallas Examples of effective Recruiting through pre- College programs

STEM Pre College Programs Introduction to Engineering (ITE) Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp (BHSSC) Student Organizations: National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE): NSBE Jr. Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE): Juntos Podemos Society of Women Engineers (SWE): High School Visitation Program

Change the world! Make an Impact Technologically enabled solutions that impact real people In any field you choose, from medicine to national security, from education to entertainment Example lecture: University of Washington's "Power to Change the World" video http://www.cs.washington.edu/WhyCSE

Students’ Recruitment Suggestions Wesley Claffee HS Danielle Crump UVA Hilde Franklin HS Molly Nacey HS

Break the Ice- Not as boring as you may imagine Marketing! Fun Example: program you best dancing partner

Tailor your message content In discussion groups, brainstorm ideas for messages that will reach your target audience

Practice tailoring messages Script a conversation that considers Who is your target audience? What need can you meet? What could take competing messages into account? How can you overcome objections? Choose your best ideas and report to whole group