The impact of the Exploring Computer Science instructional model in Chicago Public Schools

March 2016

Authors


Lucia Dettori

DePaul University

Ronald I. Greenberg

Loyola University Chicago

Steven McGee

The Learning Partnership

Dale Reed

University of Illinois at Chicago

As part of the Taste of Computing project, the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) instructional model has been expanded to many high schools in the Chicago Public Schools system. The authors report on initial outcomes showing that students value the ECS course experience, resulting in increased awareness of and interest in the field of computer science. The authors also compare these results by race and gender. The data provide a good basis for exploring the impact of meaningful computer science instruction on students from groups underrepresented in computing; of several hundred students surveyed, nearly half were female, and over half were Hispanic or African American.

Suggested Citation

Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Steven McGee, and Dale Reed. The impact of the Exploring Computer Science instructional model in Chicago Public Schools. Computing in Science & Engineering (Special Issue: Best of RESPECT 2015), 18(2):10–17, March/April 2016. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCSE.2016.39.