2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In 2018 women, Blacks and Latinx students accounted for 19.9, 9 and 11%, respectively, of undergraduate degrees in computer science (CS). Black students were awarded 5% of degrees in math and Latinx students 11%. (NSF 2021). This project studied the impact of an Emerging Scholars Program (ESP), a Peer Led Team Learning program with the goal of recruiting women and underrepresented minorities into math and CS. A collaboration between the Mathematics and CS Departments was established in 2013 at a research university. Freshman and sophomores with undeclared college majors were actively recruited. Workshops led by peer leaders and conducted weekly focused on collaborative problem solving. Program outcomes were assessed quantitatively by the proportion of participants choosing CS or Math programs following project participation, and qualitatively by surveying the impact of the program in participants' own words. 384 students with undeclared majors participated in the ESP between 2013 and 2020, including 52.6% female, 18.5% Black and Latinx. Majors or minors in CS or Mathematics were chosen by 65% of 147 non-minority males, 77% of 35 minority males, 63% of 166 non-minority females and 41% of 36 minority females. A larger percentage of underrepresented minority respondents (67%), as compared to all respondents (26%), credited PESP with helping them connect to peers in math and CS classes (p< 0.001). Respondents reported that ESP introduced them to new ways of thinking and a variety of areas of CS and math. They formed friendships, benefitted from peer leader mentoring, and became part of a math and CS community. ESP was particularly effective in recruiting minority and female students. Problem solving with peers demonstrated that CS and Math are collaborative activities focusing more on problem solving and algorithmic thinking than programming or solving equations. Future efforts addressing the needs of minority female students are needed.