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Using Storytelling to Make Computer Programming Attractive to Middle School Girls

This study explores the use of storytelling to motivate middle school girls to study computer programming. It presents the approach of presenting programming as a means to the end of storytelling, highlighting the benefits of storytelling for self-expression and engaging non-programming friends and family. The study includes formative evaluations and workshops with middle school girls, resulting in the development of Storytelling Alice, a version of the programming tool Alice tailored for storytelling purposes. The study also presents the results of summative evaluations, comparing the effectiveness of Storytelling Alice with the generic version of Alice, and demonstrates the positive impact of storytelling on girls' interest and attitudes towards programming.

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Using Storytelling to Make Computer Programming Attractive to Middle School Girls

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  1. Using Storytelling to Make Computer Programming Attractive to Middle School Girls Caitlin Kelleher School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University www.alice.org

  2. Computer Science is Everywhere • Medicine: Identifying new potential medications • Science: Building robots to explore Mars • Business: Creating new communications networks • Education: Teaching our children to read one on one • Art History: Revealing lost paintings

  3. The Shrinking CS pool

  4. Why do we need to motivate girls to study CS?

  5. 1950s: Computers are powerful calculators

  6. 2000s: Computing Technology Part of Everyday Life

  7. A Pragmatic Need for Diversity • As human beings, we are best at understanding our own needs. We need to include a representative sample of our population in the design of new technologies. • In the US, women are the largest underrepresented group

  8. Critical Time: Middle School • Middle school is the time during which many girls decide that math and science is not for them. http://www.eric.ed.gov/resources/ericreview/vol6no2/encourage.html

  9. “OK, so I can make the bunny move around, but why would I want to?”

  10. Approach Present programming as a means to the end of storytelling.

  11. Why storytelling? • Girls can come up with a story idea. • Stories provide a graceful introduction to a variety of programming concepts • Stories provide opportunities for self-expression • Stories can be readily appreciated by non-programming friends and family

  12. Developing Storytelling Alice Formative Evaluation: Observe middle school girls (and some boys) creating stories in Alice Design and Implement: Improve Alice

  13. Subjects: Formative Evaluation • ~ 120 Girl Scouts from within 1.5 hours of Pittsburgh • ~ 30 Local home-schooled kids • ~ 60 Campers at STEM camps

  14. Over 18 months, ~15 iterations Formative Evaluation: Observe middle school girls (and some boys) creating stories in Alice Design and Implement: Improve Alice

  15. Workshop Process • Create a storyboard • Complete the Storytelling Alice tutorial • Build story in version of Storytelling Alice

  16. 3-Step Storyboarding • DVD box description • Setting, action, purpose for each scene. • 6-9 drawn frames with textual descriptions per scene.

  17. Motivation for Programming Constructs • Sequences – 100% • Subroutines (through the need for multiple scenes) – 87% • Methods with parameters (through character methods) – 52% • Loops – 48%

  18. Making girls’ stories attainable goals.

  19. Multiple Scenes

  20. Storytelling Alice: Say, think Play sound Walk to, walk offscreen, walk Move Sit On, Lie on Kneel Fall Down Stand Up Straighten Look at, look Turn to face, Turn away from Turn Touch Keep Touching Generic Alice: Move Turn Roll Resize Play Sound Move to Move toward, Move away from Orient to Turn to Face, point at Set point of view to Set Pose Stand up Move at speed, turn at speed, roll at speed Constrain to face, Constrain to point at Change the basic animations to match what kids want to create

  21. Helping girls find story ideas.

  22. Seeding Stories Harold T. Wireton.crazy go nuts

  23. Make the gallery a source of inspiration Nina.do ninja move Lunch Lady.scold 1. Caricatured Characters 2. Animations that require explanation

  24. Introducing girls to Alice through creating stories.

  25. Before: After:

  26. To open the method “bunny shushes the phone,” click on the edit button next to its tile.

  27. Storytelling Alice Demo

  28. Subjects: Summative Evaluation • 88 Girl Scouts from within 1.5 hours of Pittsburgh (so far)

  29. Evaluating Storytelling Alice vs. Generic Alice Control Group: Experimental Group: Tutorial Build something to show in Non-Story-Alice Tutorial Build something to show in Story-Alice 2 hrs, 15 min Take programming quiz and attitude survey Try Non-Story Alice Try Story-Alice 30 min Choose Story or Non-Story Alice to take home Show a world to everyone

  30. Evaluating Story-Alice vs. Regular Alice Control Group: Experimental Group: Tutorial Build something to show in Non-Story-Alice Tutorial Build something to show in Story-Alice 2 hrs, 15 min 1 Take programming quiz and attitude survey Try Non-Story Alice Try Story-Alice 30 min Choose Story or Non-Story Alice to take home Show a world to everyone

  31. Layout vs. Programming

  32. Alice Activity

  33. Generic Alice Activity

  34. Storytelling Alice Activity

  35. Evaluating Story-Alice vs. Regular Alice Control Group: Experimental Group: Tutorial Build something to show in Non-Story-Alice Tutorial Build something to show in Story-Alice 2 hrs, 15 min 2 Take programming quiz and attitude survey Try Non-Story Alice Try Story-Alice 30 min Choose Story or Non-Story Alice to take home Show a world to everyone

  36. Storytelling doesn’t hurt learning p = 0.391

  37. Attitudes for both groups are similar p = 0.326

  38. More interest in a future Alice class Non-Story Story Definitely Not Maybe no, Maybe yes Probably Yes Definitely Yes Probably Not p = 0.02

  39. Evaluating Story-Alice vs. Regular Alice Control Group: Experimental Group: Tutorial Build something to show in Non-Story-Alice Tutorial Build something to show in Story-Alice 2 hrs, 15 min Take programming quiz and attitude survey Try Non-Story Alice Try Story-Alice 30 min 3 Choose Story or Non-Story Alice to take home Show a world to everyone

  40. Girls are more likely to choose the story version p < 0.001

  41. Evaluating Story-Alice vs. Regular Alice Control Group: Experimental Group: Tutorial Build something to show in Non-Story-Alice Tutorial Build something to show in Story-Alice 2 hrs, 15 min Take programming quiz and attitude survey Try Non-Story Alice Try Story-Alice 30 min Choose Story or Non-Story Alice to take home 4 Show a world to everyone

  42. Showing a story is appealing 2% story kids show their non-story world instead of their story world 34% non-story kids show their story world instead of their non-story world p < 0.001

  43. Users of the storytelling version show more evidence of engagement/motivation p = 0.001

  44. The Future: Alice v3.0 • Now beginning design and development • Will dump “real” Java and a graceful path • Will be driven by findings about storytelling, and will have high quality characters and animations. • Will be targeted (possible multiple configurations/flavors) at everyone from 5th grade to college freshmen.

  45. Alice: Making it Easy (and Fun!) to Learn to Program Questions? Caitlin Kelleher www.alice.org

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