StitchFest: Diversifying Design, Experience, and Perception in a College Hackathon to Broaden Participation in Computing

• In Event: 16.059 - Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: 16.059-3 - Division C Section 1e: Enhancing Diversity in Computer Science and Engineering Education

Abstract

While coding competitions and hackathons have steadily increased in number, evidence shows few women participate. Because these public events present viable opportunities to broaden participation in computing, we re-designed the focus of activities and collaborative arrangements in a hardware hackathon, called [Blinded], in which 33 undergraduate and graduate students competed as part of a larger hackathon. Our analysis focused on interviews conducted with 8 female and 7 male participants to understand how targeted recruitment, thematic framing, space arrangements, kinds of materials and material distribution impacted participation and perception. We discuss how [Blinded] was successful in increasing female and novice participation, fostering collaborative learning, and diversifying perceptions and designs, as well as provide implications for K-12 learning and broadening computing participation.

Authors

• Gabriela T. Richard, The Pennsylvania State University

• Yasmin B. Kafai, University of Pennsylvania

• Barrie Adleberg, University of Pennsylvania