A Theoretical Perspective Wildcard Project Cori Hall February 25, 2004 The Educational Journey of a Woman in Computer Science

What’s this presentation all about? A conversation with, “Lisa,” a third year pHD in Computer Science, inspired me to look into relating her experiences with gender related cognitive theory Compare common themes in gender related cognitive theories with Lisa’s story These theories do not dictate Lisa’s experiences, but I did find patterns relating her story with the theories

Women’s Ways of Knowing Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule’s “Pajama Party” (1986) Five perspectives from which women know and view the world Emphasis on women finding their voice Advocates “connected teaching” (collaboration, group discussion)

Model of Epistemological Reflection Baxter Magolda (1992) Expanded upon Perry’s theory by using women and men in her study Patterns are related to, but not dictated by gender Socially constructed ways of knowing Women tend to be relational in their learning

Computer Science Students at OSU 2002 College of Engineering Statistics: –411 Undergraduate women, 2683 men –87 Masters women, 330 men –25 Doctoral women, 144 men Women = 14% of total engineering student population When Lisa entered OSU, the graduate population of the computer science department was 80% international. She is one of 2 American women students in the department.

Lisa’s Story My questions to Lisa focused on: –Lisa’s journey to becoming a third year phD in Computer Science –Relationships with others in the process of completing her degree in Computer Science

Points of Interest Lisa’s undergraduate experience –Attended Hobarton/ William Smith in upstate New York –One of 2 individuals in her degree –Not a competitive program –Inspired by a female computer science teacher, who became her mentor

Points of Interest Graduate Experiences –A member of a research group developing spreadsheet software –Lisa’s research is focused on gender issues in developing the program –Prefers researching how humans interact with the software rather than researching algorithms

Points of Interest Lisa’s relationship with her advisor –Female advisor –In determining research goals, Lisa and her advisor build off of each other’s ideas –Advisor has been an important part in helping Lisa feel confident in her abilities

Theory Tie-In’s Relational Humanistic Approach to Computer Science Importance of collaboration

In Conclusion Although theory does not dictate the way in which people learn best, it is important to realize that common themes related to gender do exist

Thank you for your time and have a great day. References Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., & Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). Later Cognitive-Structural Theories. In Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Oregon State University College of Engineering Annual Report (2003). Retrieved on February 24, 2004 from