Towards more gender diversity in CS through an artificial intelligence summer program for high school girls

Marie E. Vachovsky, Grace Wu, Sorathan Chaturapruek, Olga Russakovsky, Richard Sommer, Li Fei-Fei

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

45 Scopus citations

Abstract

The field of computer science suffers from a lack of diversity. The Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory's Out- reach Summer (SAILORS), a two-week non-residential free summer program, recruits high school girls to computer science, specifically to Artificial Intelligence (AI). The program was organized by graduate student and professor volunteers. The goals of the pilot program are to increase interest in AI, contextualize technically rigorous AI concepts through societal impact, and address barriers that could discourage 10th grade girls from pursuing computer science. In this paper we describe the curriculum designed to achieve these goals. Survey results show students had a statistically significant increase in technical knowledge, interest in pursuing careers in AI, and confidence in succeeding in AI and computer science. Additionally, survey results show that the majority of the students found new role models, faculty support, and a sense of community in AI and computer science.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationSIGCSE 2016 - Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages303-308
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781450338561
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 17 2016
Externally publishedYes
Event47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education, SIGCSE 2016 - Memphis, United States
Duration: Mar 2 2016Mar 5 2016

Publication series

NameSIGCSE 2016 - Proceedings of the 47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education

Other

Other47th ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education, SIGCSE 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityMemphis
Period3/2/163/5/16

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Computer Science
  • Education

Keywords

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Science Education
  • Gender and Diversity
  • K-12 Education
  • Outreach
  • Recruiting Women
  • Summer Camps

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