Week 10 Activity (Thursday): Colloquium talk at Mudd

This week, Harvey Mudd College hosts a talk by Vidushi Ojha, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who is a candidate for a faculty position in the CS department at the college. The talk begins at 4:15 PM on Thursday, but a reception with refreshments will be held outside at 4:00 PM.

There are two colloquium talks this week, so we have slightly different rules for this week for students enrolled in CS Colloquium (CS 195).

• We would be hugely pleased to have you attend both talks. These talks don't only let us see a faculty candidate, they also let the faculty candidate see us, so having a good audience is important. But if you can only manage to see a single talk this week, that is okay too.
• If you are in Section 1, we know you're free to attend this talk, but if you'd like to attend the other talk on Tuesday, feel free to do so, either as well or instead.
• If you are in Section 2, and you cannot attend Tuesday's talk, you can watch the recording of either talk.

Investigating Student Perceptions and Experiences to Broaden Participation in Computing

Abstract

Computer science (CS) in the US has historically lacked participation from women, disabled people, and individuals who identify as Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American, among others. As a result, the technological sector today lacks the perspectives and contributions of a significant proportion of the population, despite the ever-increasing reach of technology into all of our daily lives. There is a need at all levels of computing education and the workforce to broaden the participation of individuals from groups that have been historically underrepresented, which requires both recruiting a more diverse student population into our CS courses and supporting their retention in computing pathways.

This talk presents research that aims to broaden participation in computing at the college level. We first investigate the preconceptions students have about CS and its subfields that may discourage them from pursuing the field in the first place. We describe in detail a study that investigated students’ beliefs about AI and cybersecurity, and found that students report stereotypes about these fields that may not be accurate and discourage their participation in these fields. Secondly, we examine experiences students have once they are in computing spaces, and how those experiences may impact their persistence, with a focus on computing self-efficacy, a term that refers to students’ confidence in achieving their computing goals. We find that students identifying as women, non-binary, Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American report lower computing self-efficacy. Finally, we conclude by discussing the future avenues for this work and how it can lead to broader impacts on computing education and institutions.

About Vidushi Ojha

Vidushi Ojha is a PhD candidate in Computer Science Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a Mudd alum from the class of 2017 and is advised by former Mudd professor Colleen Lewis. Her research focuses on broadening participation in computing from historically underrepresented groups as well as diversity, equity, inclusion, and access efforts in CS.

When and How to Attend

• Thursday, November 2
  • Location: Galileo McAlister, Harvey Mudd College
  • Optional reception begins at 4:00 PM
  • Talk runs from 4:15–5:30 PM

Recording for Section 2

Required Assessment

To receive credit for attending this colloquium, complete the assessment:

• Assessment

Please do so at your soonest convenience, within 24 hours of seeing the talk.

(When logged in, completion status appears here.)

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