2016
DOI: 10.1186/s40594-016-0052-1
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Gender, interest, and prior experience shape opportunities to learn programming in robotics competitions

Abstract: Background: Robotics competitions are increasingly popular and potentially provide an on-ramp to computer science, which is currently highly gender imbalanced. However, within competitive robotics teams, student participation in programming is not universal. This study gathered surveys from over 500 elementary, middle, and high school robotics competition participants to examine (1) whether programming involvement in these competitions is associated with motivation to pursue additional programming experiences … Show more

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Cited by 62 publications
(37 citation statements)
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“…However, early CS experiences that do not seem relevant to prior interests, or reinforce negative stereotypes about CS careers, could deter students from choosing a CS major in the future; these negative effects may be particularly strong for women (Beyer, ; Carter, ). For example, a study of middle and high school robotics teams showed that girls' declining participation in programming activities was explained by a concurrent decline in interest in programming (Witherspoon, Schunn, Higashi, & Baehr, ). To encourage long‐term participation in CS, K–12 general education robotics classes should aim to trigger situational interest in novice programming students, while also deepening individual interest by developing confidence in programming ability.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…However, early CS experiences that do not seem relevant to prior interests, or reinforce negative stereotypes about CS careers, could deter students from choosing a CS major in the future; these negative effects may be particularly strong for women (Beyer, ; Carter, ). For example, a study of middle and high school robotics teams showed that girls' declining participation in programming activities was explained by a concurrent decline in interest in programming (Witherspoon, Schunn, Higashi, & Baehr, ). To encourage long‐term participation in CS, K–12 general education robotics classes should aim to trigger situational interest in novice programming students, while also deepening individual interest by developing confidence in programming ability.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…While robotics competitions may encourage students to learn more about fields such as programming and engineering, research also demonstrates that gender gaps exist in these competitive environments and that this gap grows noticeably with the age of students and level of complexity of competitions (Witherspoon, Schunn, Higashi, & Baehr, 2016). Looking back at the MIT robotics competitions described in the previous section, two Wellesley college professors noted that these competitions had fewer than 20% female participation, despite the fact that the student body was 40% female (Rusk, Berg, & Resnick, 2005).…”
Section: Gender Issues and Robotics Competitionsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Prior evaluations of the FIRST LEGO League, for example, has shown that males outnumber females 5 to 2 (Melchior, Cutter, & Cohen, 2004). Additionally, in a study of students from FIRST and VEX competitions, Witherspoon et al (2016) found that female students were more likely than male students to participate in elementary school competitions and other and entry-level competitions, but that this changes by the time female students reach competitions at the high school level, when male students outnumber female students. This shift is mirrored by the representation of female mentors and entry-level versus advanced competitions.…”
Section: Gender Issues and Robotics Competitionsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Growing empirical evidence suggests that these differences originate from the socio-cultural features of the learning context [38]; for example, the teachers' gender may affect students' participation and performance in science and engineering [35]. Doerschuk and colleagues [7] found that the gender gap between boys and girls interested in computer science could be already identified at early secondary school age (~11 years-old).…”
Section: The Role Of Age and Gendermentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The underlying factors for the decreased interest in STEM fields among girls include having no available role model and not getting enough practical, hands-on experience with STEM subjects [37]. Other studies suggest that females' interest in scientific fields dominated by males is associated with females' self-confidence in their relating abilities, which is significantly supported by early-age possibilities to engage with scientific activities [38]. Thus, engaging girls from early ages with science across informal and non-formal science learning activities might provide the necessary support for developing and sustaining interest toward the STEM fields.…”
Section: The Role Of Age and Gendermentioning
confidence: 99%