![]() ![]() Pete highlighted practical steps that every school can take by using internal role models drawn from the student body to inspire other pupils and produce influential peer-to-peer interactions. In the Belonging strand of the Gender Balance in Computing programme, the researchers will look closely at the attitudes of both boys and girls towards computing, and Carrie Annie explained that giving learners the chance to talk to female role models from the tech sector may cause a measurable shift in their attitudes to the subject. You can find out more about embedding diversity in computing lessons from our past research seminar about equity-focused teaching. Jill echoed this when she spoke about the need to challenge stereotypes, embed diversity in educational materials, and continue to educate teachers to create computing classrooms where girls feel that they belong. Women attending these courses learn from a volunteer with a group of peers and become part of a community where members support each other towards brilliance. Amali de Alwis turned this concept upside down when she described the “human-centred design” of Code First: Girls courses. Computing suffers from the perception of brilliance bias amongst students: many of them feel that they need genius-like abilities in order to succeed with their computing studies, and to many of them it seems like such abilities are most commonly exhibited by men. ![]() Theme 2: Giving everyone a sense of belongingĪ second theme that emerged during the panel discussion was to who belongs in computing, more specifically which groups self-identify as belonging in computing. The programme’s Relevance strand will explore the impact of linking computing to real-world problem-solving, working with Year 8 pupils in more than 180 secondary schools in England. In this vein, Carrie Anne Philbin gave an overview of the Relevance strand of the ground-breaking Gender Balance in Computing research programme (co-led by the Foundation). Pete’s very first lesson for 11-year-old students gives them a real-world context for computingĬomputing education research has much more to uncover about how computing can be presented as a relevant subject in formal education. Pete devised a lesson that uses collaborative play and pixel art to introduce steganography, a cybersecurity technique for hiding data in plain sight within an ordinary file or message. In his teaching, Pete has observed that the very first lesson in Year 7 (11-year-olds) is crucial, because students form opinions about computing immediately. Learners’ need for contextual lessons was reiterated by Pete Marshman. Dr Jill Denner shared that research has shown a promising approach to altering this perception: connecting the content of computing lessons to people’s everyday lives. Students often describe computing as a very abstract, academic subject. ![]() You can find the recording of the event at the bottom of the post. In this blog post, I present three key themes which were covered during the panel session. ![]() Nevertheless, much remains to be done in order to present computing as an appealing option for girls. In England, the proportion of girls choosing formal qualifications in computer science is slowly increasing, and a number of initiatives support the uptake of computing as a career for girls and women. Broadening the tech sector employee pool and empowering all students to see computing as a life-changing, fulfilling subject remains an enduring issue in many countries around the world. ![]()
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