Exploring Underrepresented Student Motivation and Perceptions of Collaborative Learning-Enhanced CS Undergraduate Introductory Courses

This Research Full Paper reports the results of a 30item survey of students in three large-enrollment introductory CS courses in the Fall semester of 2017. This survey was designed to provide insight into the perceptions and motivation differences between students from underrepresented minorities in the field of computing (CS-URMs) and CS non-URMs in large-enrollment introductory computer science (CS) courses. Its focus is on how diverse learners engage in the course and how students from diverse backgrounds (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) perceive large-enrollment college introductory CS courses that incorporate collaborative learning activities. Survey items were adapted from four validated instruments. Survey responses from 517 students suggest significant differences between CS-URM and CS non-URM students in their perceptions of collaborative learning and instructor support. CS-URMs students’ motivation was significantly higher than CS non-URMs. The study findings have implications for how to engage diverse learners in introductory computing courses. The paper provides suggestions for designing CS introductory courses to be more inclusive learning environments for all.