Shaping Girls Future As Coders, Teachers Play A Critical Role
It doesn’t take long to help girls see a future for themselves in computer science, but it depends largely on how good their teachers are at recognizing the skills the girls have in coding, which is basically writing language for computers. We found that girls ages 10 to 12 can come to see themselves as coders in as little as a week. And there are diverse roles within the world of coding that allow girls with various personalities and skill sets to see themselves as coders. However, if educators recognize girls only for when they play a background role and help others, but not when they are more assertive and confident, then they may not develop their assertiveness and confidence in a way that enables them to succeed as coders.
To reach this conclusion, my colleagues and I focused on thre...