CAHSI Literature

Blaney, J. M., Sax, L. J., Feldon, D., & Gates, A. (2019, February). Broadening Participation in Computing: Putting Our Work in Context. In Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 490-491).

Broadening the participation of women in computing has increasingly become a focus of computing education research over  the  past  several  years.  To be sure, the field of   computing has unique challenges that merit close examination. At the same time, social scientists have built large bodies of literature related to gender equity across disciplines   that span […]

Villa, E. Q. (2018). ACM RETENTION COMMITTEE Minority voices: interrupting the social environment to retain undergraduates in computing. ACM Inroads, 9(3), 31-33.

The low enrollment and graduation rates of underrepresented students in computer science, particularly those students who are women and Latinx1, is well documented and of deep concern to computer science educators, industry, and other stakeholders. This concern was the motivation for the ACM Education Board to establish the ACM Retention Committee, with co-chairs Ali-son Derbenwick […]

Gates, A. Q., Thiry, H., & Hug, S. (2016). Reflections: The Computing Alliance of Hispanic- Serving Institutions. ACM Inroads, 7(4), 69-73.

The Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI) celebrates its ten-year anniversary in 2016, providing an ideal opportunity to reflect on the organization, its accomplishments, and the future. The inspiration for CAHSI originated from discussions at the 2004 National Science Foundation’s (NSF) biennial Minority Institutions Infrastructure (MII) meeting, which centered on the need for a grassroots […]

Villa, E. Q., Wandermurem, L., Hampton, E. M., & Esquinca, A. (2016). Engineering Education through the Latina Lens. Journal of Education and Learning, 5(4), 113-125.

Less than 20% of undergraduates earning a degree in engineering are women, and even more alarming is minority women earn a mere 3.1% of those degrees. This paper reports on a qualitative study examining Latinas’ identity development toward and in undergraduate engineering and computer science studies using a sociocultural theory of learning. Three major themes […]

Gates, A. Q., Casas, C., Servin, C., & Slattery, M. (2015, October). Using Peer-Led Team Learning to build university-community college relationships. In 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.

Through support from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the El Paso Community College (EPCC) began a program to collaborate on adoption of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) at EPCC. The NCWIT-funded effort aims to transfer this effective retention practice to the EPCC in […]

Hug, S., Thiry, H., & Gates, A. (2015, October). Strategies for sustaining change in engineering education. In 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.

In order to develop the engineers of the future, engineering departments need to embrace innovative, student-centered practices. The development and sustained growth of organizational improvement practices like those needed to improve engineering education depend upon an institutions’ or departments’ collective and individualized attention to human resources, leadership, knowledge development, revenue development and opportunities for continuous […]

Thiry, H., & Hug, S. (2014). “We should all help each other”: Latina undergraduates’ practices and identities in the figured world of computing. Boulder, CO: International Society of the Learning Sciences.

The number of Latinas earning computing degrees and entering technical careers is stubbornly low. This study uses Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, and Cain’s (1998) concepts of identity and figured worlds to explore the experiences of 22 Latina undergraduates in computing majors. Using semi-structured, focus group interviews, this paper describes participants’ identity production as empowered computer scientists. […]

Hug, S., & Jurow, A. S. (2013). Learning together or going it alone: how community contexts shape the identity development of minority women in computing. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 19(4).

Educational programs are dynamic and context dependent; their impact should thus be analyzed to illuminate their locally situated elements of success. The purpose of projects like Women in Academic Computing (WiAC) is to perfect small initiatives that can be scaled up to serve additional communities of scholars. However, before attempting to scale up it is […]

Villa, E. Q., Kephart, K., Gates, A. Q., Thiry, H., & Hug, S. (2013). Affinity research groups in practice: Apprenticing students in research. Journal of Engineering Education, 102(3), 444-466.

The affinity research group (ARG) model is a set of practices built on a cooperative team framework to support the creation and maintenance of dynamic and inclusive research groups in which students learn and apply the knowledge and skills required for research and cooperative work. Using situated learning theory, we conducted a qualitative study of […]

Gates, A. Q., Hug, S., Thiry, H., Aló, R., Beheshti, M., Fernandez, J., … & Adjouadi, M. (2011). The Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Supporting Hispanics at critical transition points. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 11(3), 1-21.

Hispanics have the highest growth rates among all groups in the U.S., yet they remain considerably underrepresented in computing careers and in the numbers who obtain advanced degrees. Hispanics constituted about 7% of undergraduate computer science and computer engineering graduates and 1% of doctoral graduates in 2007–2008. The small number of Hispanic faculty, combined with […]

Thiry, H., Hug, S. & Weston, T.J. (2011). The Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Enhancing the success of Hispanic undergraduates in computing disciplines. Journal of Enrollment Management, 5(1), 32-56.

Various cultural, social, educational, and economic barriers contribute to the underrepresentation of Hispanics in computer science education and the technical workforce. The Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI) is a partnership of ten institutions with the objective of recruiting, retaining, and advancing Hispanics in computing fields. CAHSI provides comprehensive support to students within and beyond […]

Gates, A. Q. (2010). The role of Hispanic-serving institutions in contributing to an educated work force. Communications of the ACM, 53(12), 31-33.

In order to thrive and even survive  in the worldwide market-place of ideas and innovation, the  U.S.  must  aggressively meet the challenge of increasing the number of students who complete degrees in the fields of science, technology,  engineering,  and  mathematics  (STEM).  It  is  critical  for  the economic  and  social  health  of  the U.S. that a […]

Kephart, K., & Villa, E. (2008, October). Demonstrating sustainable success: Using ethnographic interviews to document the impact of the affinity research group model. In 2008 38th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference (pp. S2C-17). IEEE.

The Affinity Research Group (ARG) is a model of undergraduate research that extends the undergraduate research experience to a broad range of students by providing opportunities to learn and integrate the knowledge and skills that are required for research with those required for cooperative work. ARG creates an integrated research environment in which a collective […]

Aló, R. A., Beheshti, M., Fernandez, J., Gates, A. Q., & Ranjan, D. (2007, October). Work in progress-peer-led team learning implementation in computer science. In 2007 37th Annual Frontiers In Education Conference-Global Engineering: Knowledge Without Borders, Opportunities Without Passports (pp. S4A-7). IEEE.

The Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CA-HSI) is a consortium of eight institutions that is committed to increasing the number of Hispanics who earn baccalaureate and advanced degrees in computing. CA-HSI is implementing and promoting the development of peer-led team learning (PLTL) in the computing curriculum as one of its interventions to increase the […]

Villa, E. Q., Rios, L. D., Stafford, S., & Gandara, G. (2001, October). K-16 partnerships: casting a broad net for filling the critical gaps in engineering. In 31st Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Impact on Engineering and Science Education. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No. 01CH37193) (Vol. 2, pp. T4E-10). IEEE.

The University of Texas at El Paso (USA) has a long standing commitment to pre-college outreach and recruitment in engineering and science. An array of programs provides rich venues for attracting young people into engineering-, technology- and science-related careers. These account for contact with over 8,000 young people every year- each with opportunities to explore […]

Teller, P. J., & Gates, A. Q. (2001). Using the affinity research group model to involve undergraduate students in computer science research. Journal of Engineering Education, 90(4), 549-555.

The Affinity Research Group model is an attractive vehicle for involving undergraduates in research, retaining them, and fostering their interest in higher education. Using this model, students are given opportunities to develop, employ, and integrate knowledge and skills required for research with knowledge and skills required for cooperative work. Potential adopters of the model often […]

Teller, P. J., & Gates, A. Q. (2000, October). Applying the Affinity Research Group model to computer science research projects. In 30th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Building on A Century of Progress in Engineering Education. Conference Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No. 00CH37135) (Vol. 2, pp. S1G-7). IEEE.

The Affinity Research Group model provides students with opportunities to learn, use, and integrate the knowledge and skills required for research with the knowledge and skills required for cooperative work. Although a conceptually attractive vehicle with which to involve undergraduates in research, retain them, and foster their interest in higher education, an often posed question […]

Gates, A. Q., Teller, P. J., Bernat, A., Delgado, N., & Della‐Piana, C. K. (1999). Expanding participation in undergraduate research using the affinity group model. Journal of Engineering Education, 88(4), 409-414.

The benefits of working in a research group are clear: students develop domain expertise, gain an understanding and appreciation of the research process and its practice, and acquire team, communication, problem‐solving, and higher‐level thinking skills. Students with this experience are better equipped to make informed judgements about technical matters and to communicate and work in […]

Gates, A. Q., Teller, P. J., Bernat, A., Delgado, N., & Della-Piana, C. K. (1998, November). Meeting the challenge of expanding participation in the undergraduate research experience. In FIE’98. 28th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Moving from’Teacher-Centered’to’Learner-Centered’Education. Conference Proceedings (Cat. No. 98CH36214) (Vol. 3, pp. 1133-1138). IEEE.

The benefits of working in a research group are clear: students develop domain expertise, gain an understanding and appreciation of the research process and its practice, and acquire team, communication, problem-solving and higher-level thinking skills. Students with this experience are better equipped to make informed judgements about technical matters and to communicate and work in […]