Can reading groups scale creativity and motivation in CS education?
This article from AAAS; authors David T. Lee Ph.D., Dustin Palea; editor Stephanie E. August Ph.D.
Fostering creativity and motivation
Computation has quickly become a crucial part of nearly every industry and has resulted in unprecedented demand for a workforce that can apply their computational skills to diverse societal problems. To meet this demand, many initiatives have been introduced to improve CS education, especially for teaching skills such as programming or algorithms. Yet while teaching skills is important, developing the creative ability to apply these skills to real-world societal problems and fostering curiosity and motivation in the process are equally important for broadening participation in the computational workforce of the future and for developing technology for the public interest. Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are one effective way to provide this type of learning, but are difficult to scale due to the challenge of finding mentors who have the necessary time.
In this article, we describe our experience developing lightweight, scalable, and relational exploratory reading groups. Surprisingly, we found that these design parameters not only helped with fostering creativity and motivation, but also with overcoming system-level frictions to create pipelines into UREs. Read our story, use our materials, and let us know your thoughts!
Figure 1: Twice each quarter, 1) students browse themes relating CS to society, 2) form five-week, low time commitment, student-run reading groups, and 3) stretch their imagination by exploring new ideas while building relationships through short activities. This has 4) helped facilitate entry into undergraduate research, 5) led to greater clarity and confidence in career goals, supportive peer relationships, and a sense of belonging, both of which 6) support a diverse and creative workforce.
When you have an idea, act on it
We began experimenting with exploratory reading groups (ERGs) in the Summer of 2017. David just finished his first year as a faculty at UC Santa Cruz and had begun exploring ways to provide richer learning experiences to undergraduates. Dustin, as a first-generation Pacific Islander passionate about educational technologies, had just finished his sophomore year as an undergraduate, and had first-hand understanding of challenges facing diverse populations. Since none of his friends or family had any experience with research, he had no idea what research entailed or how it might relate to his passion to innovate in education. He is now a thriving 3rd year PhD student in Tech4Good with 3 projects published or in the review process and 3 more ongoing.