The Emerging Scholars Program Chris Murphy University of Pennsylvania cdmurphy@cis.upenn.edu

About Me Full-time lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Earned PhD-Computer Science from Columbia in 2010 Helped launch Columbia’s Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) in 2008

Emerging Scholars Program An outreach program that seeks to draw more women and under-represented minorities into Computer Science Focuses on Computer Science as a collaborative problem-solving activity Based on Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL)

Outline What is PLTL? What is ESP? How is it used at Columbia? Sample exercises Implementing PLTL in high schools Rita Powell: NCWIT

Trends in CS enrollment Taulbee Survey of CS undergrads 2006-07 50% drop in enrollment since 2001 11.8% female 5.3% Hispanic 3.6% African-American Many other studies reflect the low interest in CS by females and minorities

Goals Increase the number of female and minority students who take CS1 Increase the retention rate in those groups Number of students who complete the class Increase the number of students who continue into CS2 (and possibly major in CS)

Approach Dispel common myths about CS Boys’ club Only programming No jobs No societal impact Demonstrate that Computer Science is a COLLABORATIVE activity that focuses on PROBLEM SOLVING

What is Peer-Led Team Learning? Weekly, 1-2 hour group meetings in addition to regular class 5 – 8 students per group led by a well-trained undergrad Peer Leader Interesting CS-related problems to be solved as a group Used in STEM since the 70s

PLTL is not….. … office hours … extra help … “computer science for girls”

PLTL Workshops Peer Leader presents a problem from an area of computer science Students work together to solve the problem Peer Leader is leading, not teaching Material tends to match what is covered in the CS1 lecture but is supplementary

Why PLTL? Factors affecting intellectual development in college: Student faculty interaction outside the classroom Involvement on campus through various forms of community-building activities Involvement with student peer groups Peer groups: “the most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years” A.W. Astin, What Matters in College?

LECTURE PLTL

Effects on Students Better / deeper understanding of material Lower drop rates Better grades (usually) Formation of social groups Very high satisfaction!

Effects on Peer Leaders Better understanding of the material Increased confidence to continue in CS Appreciation for different teaching and learning styles Improved leadership skills Collegial relationship with faculty

NSF Grant for PLTL-CS

PLTL at Columbia Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) started in Spring 2008 Six participants, one Peer Leader, one Assistant Women only Seed fund grant received from NCWIT in Summer 2008 Currently two coed sections of 8-10 participants each

ESP Differentiating Features Selective: students are recruited and then apply to the program No Java! Only problem solving No homework! The one-hour workshops are self-contained

ESP Topics Designing and communicating algorithms Decision trees Encoding & encryption Natural language processing Biometrics HCI and Information Visualization Graph theory Ethical issues

1. “Mä hach’a challwawa challwataxa.” 2. “Kimsa hach’a challwawa challwataxa.” 3. “Mä challwa mä hach’a challwampiwa challwataxa.” 4. “Mä hach’a challwa kimsa challwallampiwa challwataxa.” 5. “Paya challwallawa challwataxa.” 6. “Mä challwalla paya challwampiwa challwataxa.” 7. “Kimsa challwa paya challwallampiwa challwataxa.”

Marge Bart Milhouse Maggie Homer Ralph Lisa Flanders

Student Quotes “These workshops gave me a better perspective of what computer science is. I have learned that it is extremely useful and pertains to problems and issues that are in our daily lives.” “It was extremely rewarding to participate in something in which I not only found academic value but also social and recreational value.” “I loved it, learned from it, and enjoyed my time. Even people who are not interested in computer science would find these workshops interesting. It’s about problem solving and looking at things in a new light.” “The program was fun as well as very interesting. It really gave me an idea of what kinds of problems are solved in computer science and how it involves creativity.”

Success Stories Kim Manis (Peer Leader, Spring 2008) Software Engineer at Microsoft Sahar Hasan (Peer Leader, Fall 08-Spring 09) CRA-W Distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates – Princeton Univ. CRA Undergraduate Researcher Award (Hon. Mention) Software Engineer at BlackRock Elba Garza (Peer Leader, Fall 09-Spring 10) CRA-W Distributed Research Experience for Undergraduates – Georgia Tech

Women’s Representation in the Computer Science Major at Columbia 2005-2010 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 5 10 15 20 25 % of women CS majors Start of ESP

PLTL4HS: How to get PLTL implemented at your high school

Yes, you can do PLTL in HS! Successfully done in chemistry and physics College-bound students will see it as a way to differentiate themselves in their applications Especially the Peer Leaders Requires initial investment from YOU

Major Challenges Finding Peer Leaders Training Peer Leaders Selecting Materials Institutional Issues

Finding Peer Leaders Ideally someone who has already participated in the program Excellent interpersonal skills: Interactive, communicative, supportive, positive, responsive, respectful of others They don’t need to be experts Committed to the program’s success

Where/How to Look Did well in PLTL course and other CS courses Peer leader recommendations Demographics you want to support Availability (initial training, weekly meetings, sessions) Personal invitations and/or application Interviews

Training Peer Leaders General training should start before the workshops commence A few hours Content-specific training before each workshop At least one hour Organizational memory is very important

General Training Expectations of a peer leader Peer leader goals and concerns Running Peer-led sessions, esp. the first one Group work Diverse student learning styles Sensitivity to race and gender

Expectations of Peer Leaders Time with students, for meetings, prep time Effectively run sessions Keeping student attendance Writing a journal Honest feedback of sessions and their observations Setting boundaries

Common Peer Leader Concerns Running out of material or not finishing Embarrassing self Not knowing if doing right/wrong Not being liked Fear of public speaking Knowing role: student/leader/…. Problems cannot deal with Personal safety Talking too much or not enough

Selecting Workshop Materials Workshops should ideally cover a wide range of topics from within CS Students tend to like activities with “right” answers For programming-related topics, pltlcs.org is a good place to start

Institutional Issues How will Peer Leaders (and participants) be compensated? How will the program be funded? How can you measure the success of the program?

Summary PLTL/ESP is an effective (and fun!) way to generate interest in Computer Science A PLTL program requires effort and commitment but will be rewarding to both you and your students We are happy to help!

Links Peer-led Team Learning in CS Columbia Emerging Scholars Program http://www.pltlcs.org Columbia Emerging Scholars Program http://www.cs.columbia.edu/esp National Center for Women & IT http://www.ncwit.org