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There is persistent underrepresentation of female and ethnic and racial minority students in computing. While community colleges provide a unique opportunity to increase diversity in computing fields, many students do not persist. This study aims to understand the factors that predict students' momentum--completion of a certificate, degree, or transfer in an information and communications technology (ICT) major--in order to generate information that can be used to tailor interventions. Participants were enrolled in ICT classes at 17 community colleges. Surveys were collected from 474 students at three time points over two years. Multilevel logistic regression was used to identify the factors that predict momentum approximately one year after the class ended. The results expand on Wang's theoretical model of student momentum. Men were more likely than women to have achieved an academic milestone, which was partially a result of taking more prior ICT classes, having more positive interactions with faculty and a more positive perception of the classroom climate, as well as greater motivation and fewer childcare responsibilities. Among students from groups that are underrepresented in computing, momentum was positively associated with taking prior ICT classes, motivation during the class, and romantic relationships; it was negatively associated with educational barriers. Being enrolled less than full-time at baseline or having financial challenges did not undermine momentum. Implications for practice, as well as study limitations are discussed.

Mentoring is widely cited as a strategy to increase the representation of Latinx in technology, but the role of informal relationships with adults outside their family remains unclear. This study explores how natural mentoring is utilized by Latinx youth at a community-based organization, including the perspectives of both mentors and mentees, what it looks like, and the implications for students' education and career pathways in the technology sector. The findings describe the motivations, strategies, and ideologies of the adults in informal learning settings, as well as similarities and differences in the perspectives of the mentors and mentees.

This article describes the role of culture and power in building a research-practice partnership (RPP). The original aims that drove the building of the RPP were to generate and use research to inform the programs and services provided by the youth-serving organization to Latinx youth and to use the findings to inform research on how to broaden participation in computing. In this article, we describe how the RPP evolved. Data include documentation from meeting notes, e-mails, and observations as well as interviews with practitioners. The results suggest that the research goals and process changed when the partners began to critically analyze and discuss the role of power and culture, and adjustments to the methods and theoretical grounding of the research were made as a result. The lessons learned are summarized in terms of their implications for generating research that has both theoretical and social justice implications.

Background: Multilingual learners have been overlooked and understudied in computer science education research. As the CS for All movement grows, it is essential to design integrated, justice-oriented curricula that help young multilingual learners begin to develop computational thinking skills and discourses. Purpose: We present a conceptual framework and accompanying design principles for justice-centered computational thinking activities that are language-rich, with the aim of supporting learners' agency and building their capacity over time to use computing for good in their communities. Setting: Our work takes place in a research-practice partnership centered in an elementary school in California with a significant multilingual Latinx population. Research Design: We have engaged in two cycles of design-based research with preservice and in-service teachers at an elementary school. Through analysis of one case study during the second and most recent cycle, we examined the potential of teachers using our design principles for supporting multilingual learners' language development through engagement in computational thinking. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that multilingual learners will engage in productive discourse when computational thinking lessons are designed to (1) be meaningfully contextualized, (2) position students as agentic learners, and (3) promote coherence over time. However, more research is needed to understand how teachers use these principles over time, and what additional supports are needed to ensure coordination between stakeholders to develop and effectively implement coherent learning progressions.

Background: Learning to program and success in computer science requires persistence in the face of challenges. This study contributes to research on the social context of learning by describing how children's peer interactions can support or hinder the pair's problem solving on the computer. Methods: Video recordings from eight pairs of middle school students programming a computer game are used to explore how working with a partner supports or hinders the pair's persistence in the face of challenges, what we call intrepid exploration (IE). Findings: IE thrives when partners are responsive to each other both verbally and non-verbally, and when they switch driver and navigator roles to share and build on each other's expertise. IE is hindered when partners engage in a power struggle that results in disengagement with each other and giving up on their goal. For pair programming to result in interactions that promote persistence, both students must be willing and able to embrace their assigned roles: the navigator supporting their shared goal, and the driver responding to their navigator. Contribution: The types of interactions described in this paper provide a tool for teachers to evaluate and support productive collaboration among novice pair programmers.

Strong evidence indicates that student expectations of success in mathematics decline in middle school. The goal of the present study was to examine whether the expectations of teachers and the quality of the student-teacher relationship play a role in these declines. A total of 201 (86 boys, 115 girls) Latino/a students (M = 11.0 years) and their teachers completed surveys at the beginning and end of the 6th grade, describing expectations of the student's success in mathematics and perceptions of teacher involvement with the student. Higher teacher expectations of mathematics success and higher student reports of teacher involvement anticipated greater increases in student expectations of success; the former (but not the latter), was limited to students with above average mathematics abilities.

This article builds on prior work that aims to measure computational learning (CL) during middle school. Since game computational sophistication (GCS) has been used as a proxy for a student's engagement in CL we build on their model to more completely describe the relationship between different types of building blocks of computer games and GCS. In doing so, we present a single quantitative measurement for GCS. Our model, called GCS 2.0, has face validity for 39 games, each programmed by a pair of middle school children. We choose four of these games, two with high GCS and two with low GCS, and discuss the computational building blocks found in each game. We do this to help the reader better understand our measurement of GCS and its relationship to CL.

Background and Context: Pair programming is used in classrooms to promote learning and engage a more diverse group of students in computing fields, but little is known about what it looks like in middle school. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine how programming pairs were interacting and about what. Method: Video, audio, and screen capture data were collected and analyzed from 66 middle school students working in pairs to program a computer game in an after-school class. Findings: Less than half of pairs interaction time was about their game, and one third of their time was spent not interacting at all. Most behaviors were collaborative. There were few differences across demographic groups. Factors that significantly influenced interactions and behaviors included attitude toward collaboration and prior programming knowledge.Implications: We discuss how to use pair programming in the classroom, including how to pair students to promote productive interactions.

Community colleges play a large role in educating students who are historically underrepresented in computer science (CS), including women, Latino men, and Black men, as well as post-traditional (older or working) students. In spite of this, there is a dearth of research on the institutional factors that influence whether or not community college students who are enrolled in CS classes and who express an interest in transferring and completing a bachelor's degree in the field persist. The overused "pipeline" metaphor, which indicates a supply-side lack, has been replaced by many with that of a "pathway." However, the "pathway" image suggests a general forward-moving trend that can be misleading. In this work, we draw from qualitative interviews with 14 CS students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the field who have studied introductory computer programming at a community college to investigate the following question: "What are the institutional barriers along a CS bachelor's degree track that includes community college?" Our findings indicate that there are three categories of institutional barriers along the transfer pathway: setbacks that hinder student progression forward, discontinuities in which students leave and re-enter the pathway, and departures in which students leave computer science and/or leave college altogether. We describe specific examples of each and introduce the idea of student movement as a game of "chutes and ladders," a convoluted trail where students can slide backwards or off the path (chutes), necessitating the implementation of targeted institutional supports that can boost student progress forward (ladders). We suggest institutional interventions that can help students facing each type of barrier to continue on course through community college and transfer to a four-year university.

It is widely believed that there are educational benefits to making computer games, but there is no systematic review of research on this topic. This article describes a meta-synthesis of research on children designing and programming computer games that investigates the extent to which there is evidence of benefits for computer science learning and motivation. Over 400 articles were identified, and 68 articles met the inclusion criteria. A systematic analysis and synthesis across studies showed some evidence that computer game design and programming can lead to changes in programming knowledge, problem solving, and computer science attitudes and confidence. However, most of the evidence described engagement in computing-related practices and did not measure learning. The findings were mostly positive, although several studies noted more negative attitudes toward programming after making games. The results were similar across different pedagogical approaches, although social interaction may provide unique opportunities for computer science learning. The synthesis resulted in a list of design elements for studying computer game design and programming activities; these can be used to increase the availability of evidence about learning. The article concludes with the identification of gaps in the research and suggestions for additional research.

Educational data mining can miss or misidentify key findings about student learning without a transparent process of analyzing the data. This paper describes the first steps in the process of using low-level logging data to understand how middle school students used Alice, an initial programming environment. We describe the steps that were required and the decisions that were made in building a tool to translate the low-level logging data into a form that can be used to investigate educational questions about problem-solving strategies for a range of different programming tasks. This work contributes to efforts to analyze educational data, and is important for researchers and tool builders involved with the design of logging systems for other programming environments and software tools.

This article describes the Girl Game Company's involvement in teaching Latina girls to design and program computer games while building a network of support to help them pursue IT courses and careers. Afterschool programs like the Girl Game Company can fill an important gap by providing opportunities for underserved youth to build IT fluency. A focus on fluency, rather than mere computer literacy, is important because learning and working in any discipline now requires people to think critically and creatively with technology. However, the skill-focused technology education prevalent in U.S. schools has not engaged students in a sustained way, as shown by declining interest in IT careers. The early findings from the Girl Game Company suggest that computer game design and programming, combined with activities to explore identities and build a network of support that affirms cultural identity while promoting high academic expectations, appears to hold promise for engaging an underserved group of Latina girls and setting some of them on paths to IT-intensive careers.

The influence of parental beliefs and behaviors on children's math confidence and performance is well documented, but few studies examine these associations over time, or in large samples of Latino/a families. This study used longitudinal data from 247 (114 sons and 133 daughters) mother-child dyads to examine whether maternal math gender stereotypes and math involvement predict changes in the mothers' behavior or changes in the child's perceived math competence. Maternal math gender stereotypes when children were in fifth grade predicted decreases in mothers' involvement in their daughter's math homework from fifth to sixth grade. Greater maternal math involvement in fifth grade predicted increases in sons' and daughters' perceptions of math ability from fifth to sixth grades.

We have an ethical and a scientific imperative to do research that reflects the views and learning experiences of historically marginalized groups. Most studies that use a critical methodological approach rely on qualitative data. This article describes how a critical approach to recruitment, data collection, and retention can help to ensure that quantitative research accurately reflects the experiences of Latino immigrant families. The authors draw on relevant literature and their recent longitudinal study with 300 Latina mothers and their children from a rural community that focused on parent-child relationships and the development of math interest and achievement. The article includes recommendations to researchers about effective strategies for the meaningful engagement of Latino immigrant families in survey research studies. The strategies are situated within the context of existing discourses of recruitment and retention, as well as the theoretical and cultural considerations that are necessary for culturally competent quantitative research.