What Aspects of the Program Can Be Improved?
Electronic notebook entries were coded for the positive and negative aspects of the program. Table 2 summarizes the results. There were a total of 130 comments about what participants liked, and only 74 comments about what they disliked, so the percentages do not reflect equal numbers of responses across the columns. What girls liked the best was using the computer and having mastery experiences. The following are typical examples of what the participants wrote about using the computer: “It is fun how we get to create games and then play the games that someone else made and to get ideas” and mastery experiences: “I love the feeling of accomplishing something.”
What the participants disliked the most was the amount of direct instruction and having to work with a partner. The following is an example of what they did not like about the instruction: “What I don’t like about [the program] is that we have to do a lot of work to make the games and when they explain the directions and how to do things it’s really boring listening to them talk.” In addition, a minority of the girls did not like the social aspects of the program, such as having to work with a partner. As one girl explained: “Well my partner she didn’t really do anything and she didn’t really like any of my ideas, but she didn’t come up with any of her own, so it’s kind of hard to mix those two.”
In summary, the survey data suggest that participants in the GCG program changed in several positive ways, and the interview and satisfaction data provide some insight into why these changes may have occurred. The findings are discussed in some detail below, along with suggestions for how to integrate technology into the classroom in a way that will increase the likelihood that girls will become more active participants in the IT workforce.
Discussion
This study adds to a growing literature on how to integrate computers into middle schools in a way that will enhance the long-term participation of a broader range of students in IT. In particular, in order to close the gender gap in the IT workforce, most agree that we need innovative strategies to prepare and engage girls early in their education. Although not all girls will choose to pursue a career in technology, it is important to level the playing field of opportunity so that when students make that choice, it is really is a “choice.”
This study also builds on the expectancy-value model to assess the impact of and satisfaction with the program. The data suggest that there were small increases in participants’ expectations for success and the extent to which they value work that involves computers, as well as in their perceived level of social support to work with computers. The findings suggest that the program activities hold promise for increasing the participation and persistence of girls in courses and careers. While the findings from this small study are modest, they provide some indication of the potential benefits of computer game design as a strategy to integrate technology into the classroom. This evaluation is a first step toward a larger and more methodologically rigorous study of the activities that make up the GCG program.
Research Findings
The strongest findings were that participants’ expectations for success increased, in terms of both perceived ability with specific computer skills and general knowledge about computers. Previous research suggests that these self-perceptions play a critical role in girls’ occupational choices (Zarrett et al., 2006). However, the more in-depth measure of confidence in the study (the nine-item scale) did not detect an increase among participants that was significantly different from the comparison group. This may be partially due to the fairly high levels of confidence at pre-test, as well as some girls’ views that there was too much instruction and not enough time for independent problem solving.
In contrast to previous research (American Association of University Women, 2000; Dryburgh, 2000), the girls in this study did not endorse negative stereotypes about who works with computers, nor did they believe that boys are better at computers. The accessibility and widespread use of technology by the participants and in national samples (Fairlie & London, 2006) may have changed some of these negative stereotypes. While program participation was associated with a drop in the perception that boys do better than girls with computers, the average ratings were still in the center of the scale, suggesting that most neither endorsed nor rejected the statement. Clearly, there is more that needs to be done to strengthen girls’ critical assessment of gender stereotypes regarding who is good with computers.
The program activities did not lead to a change on two measures of values. There was no change in girls’ reported attitudes toward computers. Although the girls in the program did report a slightly greater increase in positive attitudes, the ratings at pre-test were so positive initially that the change was not statistically significant. Despite the fact that what students liked most about the program was making a game on the computer, girls did not increase their intentions to take computer courses. This may be a function of their developmental stage, but certainly is a concern. Longitudinal studies have found that middle school girls who believe they will enjoy a computer-based job are more likely to have plans for an IT career three years after high school (Zarrett, et al., 2006).
Notably, the girls’ perception of social support increased over time; at the end of the program, girls were less likely to say there is nobody they talk to about computers. This is not surprising, since they had recently participated in a graduation ceremony that was attended by family members and friends. There was, however, no detectable change in their number of friends who are interested and/or use computers, so it does not appear that exposure to other participants changed friendship structures outside the program. This finding may be due in part to the dislike that some expressed about working with a partner on the computer or to the limited outreach of the program into the classrooms.
Limitations
Some limitations of this study are the small sample size, differences in the treatment and comparison group composition, and the lack of attention to context. With a larger sample size, it would be possible to verify the findings and to examine which types of girls benefited most from the program. Similarly, to attain comparable samples and to determine whether change was a result of the program, the participants would need to be randomly assigned to conditions. In addition, this study faced challenges described by others as an inherent part of evaluating after school programs, which include the difficulty of finding an appropriate comparison group and instruments that are sensitive enough to detect change (Fancsali, 2002).
Another limitation is that the data focused on psychological and social factors and did not address the family or the structural factors that mediate the effects of programs. For example, Goode et al. (2006) describe the importance of supportive learning environments to increase girls’motivation to participate and interest in IT. To examine the effects of a set of program activities, we must consider the broader context, such as whether there is an environment that is supportive of girls’ participation in IT endeavors.
Implications for Practice
There are several implications of this study for classroom teachers. First, the satisfaction data suggest that students most enjoyed creating games on the computer. Despite the fact that computer labs were available to all students at the school and club where the program was implemented, few participants used them as part of a regular class, and even fewer used them during their own time. Using the computer to make a project that was posted on the Internet appeared to be the greatest source of satisfaction for program participations. Although the games in this program were focused mostly on social factors, others have had students make games about mathematics (Kafai, 1995) and other subjects. Teachers can incorporate aspects of game design and construction into their classroom by using our program guide and lesson plans.
What students liked the least about the GCG program was the amount of direct instruction by the teachers. Opportunities to explore ideas on the computer while creating a project, balanced with some structure and support to have mastery experiences, may be the best way to integrate computer activities into a broader curriculum. We refined and tested several approaches for supporting students’ independent problem solving and for building more fearless, or intrepid explorers on the computer (Denner & Bean, 2006).
Since research shows the importance of peers in students’ decisions to participate and the extent to which they benefit from extracurricular activities (Barber, Stone, Hunt, & Eccles, 2005), efforts to increase girls’ participation in information technology will want to incorporate a stronger peer component. Specifically, activities can aim to build friendships that not only support girls’ interest in computers, but also can be sustained outside the context of the classroom or program. We believe that allowing students to work together by pair programming is particularly helpful in this regard. Pair programming is a collaborative learning structure that was originally developed for use in software design (Williams, Kessler, Cunningham, & Jeffries, 2000). Paired students work together on all phases of game design and share time at the computer as the driver (working the keyboard and mouse) and navigator (providing guidance and monitoring mistakes) (Werner, Denner, & Bean, 2004). Previous research suggests that students benefit most from collaboration when partners have similar experience and ability with the subject area (Crook, 2000; Mercer & Wegerif, 1999). As our data suggest, not all girls liked working with a partner, and we, as well as others, have found that teachers must play an active role in selecting the pairs and guiding the work (Johnson & Johnson, 1999; Werner, Campe, & Denner, 2005). Thus, we created lesson plans and a video on ‘bad’ and ‘good’ pair programming etiquette to increase the benefits of this approach.
The findings suggest it is important to incorporate formal structures for supporting students when working on the computer. Most efforts to integrate technology into the classroom place individual students at a computer, despite the fact that few schools have a computer for everyone. The pair programming approach shows promise for overcoming limitations on access and for facilitating positive interactions while creating a computer game. Future efforts to engage girls with information technology should leverage their interest in peer interactions and should incorporate a stronger family involvement component, as well as activities that help students link their interest in computers to long-term career and educational goals.
To increase middle school girls’ expectations for success with technology, it is important to include activities that focus on identity exploration. If girls do not see themselves as the type of person who is good with technology, they are unlikely to pursue it. Instructional materials that describe how teachers can promote girls’ “tech savvy” identity can be found on our project website.
Conclusion
In summary, this article describes the findings from a theoretically-based evaluation of an out-of-school program to engage girls in IT. The data provide some support for using computer game design combined with identity-building activities as a strategy to increase the likelihood that girls will play a more active role in the technology of the future. These findings are consistent with studies of other programs that have created opportunities for girls to play an active role in relation to technology (Brunner & Bennett, 2002; Edwards, 2002). Also, they are consistent with the trend of engaging students with technology by allowing them to be content creators rather than simply consumers (Lenhart & Madden, 2005). As this trend continues, the activities in the GCG program can be used to leverage the participation of girls to change the face of technology.
