{"620928":{"#nid":"620928","#data":{"type":"news","title":"IC\u0027s Miranda Parker Uncovering Factors that Lead to CS Programs in Georgia","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch3\u003ELike the majority of research in IC, it comes down to the people\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMiranda Parker\u003C\/strong\u003E was early on in her time as a Ph.D. student in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/a\u003E (IC) when she began her first quantitative study. She wanted to see whether they could model the variables that influence whether a school would or would not adopt computer science (CS) as a class for its students.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPrior to the study, the hypothesis was that variables like median income or enrollment numbers or the population of students who qualify for free and reduced cost lunch programs could be an indicator of whether or not computer science was implemented. Lower income levels, for example, might correlate to schools that just didn\u0026rsquo;t have the resources to deploy such programs.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESomewhat to Parker\u0026rsquo;s surprise, the short answer to that question was \u0026ndash; no. No, a higher median income didn\u0026rsquo;t mean more computer science; no, schools with lower free and reduced lunch numbers didn\u0026rsquo;t teach computer science at a higher rate; no, higher enrollment didn\u0026rsquo;t necessarily mean more young students yearning to learn how to code.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the surface, that first study might have felt like a failure. If the goal was to prove that income disparity equated to a disparity in who was gaining exposure to a key part of their education, then it may be fair to describe it as such. However, Parker looks back on that study as a key component of what has guided her research at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E ever since.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt wasn\u0026rsquo;t a failure, she said. It just helped open her eyes to some realities she may not have noticed otherwise.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Part of me wanted my first study to fail because part of me didn\u0026rsquo;t want to be able to say, \u0026lsquo;Oh, yes, these three things mean more computer science,\u0026rsquo;\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;Sure, it\u0026rsquo;s snazzy. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to put on a Facebook post. But it\u0026rsquo;s so much more complicated than that. And I\u0026rsquo;m glad that it\u0026rsquo;s more complicated than that.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOver the years, Parker, who studies \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/academics\/human-centered-computing-phd-program\u0022\u003Ehuman-centered computing\u003C\/a\u003E with a focus on computer science education, has gained a deeper understanding of what might influence a public high school in Georgia to offer computer science education. None of the above items are among them. What she said has shown some correlation is a bit more complex.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;If a school had computer science in 2016, the correlation was that it also had computer science in 2015, 2014, and 2013,\u0026rdquo; she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOkay, but how did it get started in 2013? That\u0026rsquo;s part of the question her research is trying to uncover.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s an endless cycle,\u0026rdquo; she explained. \u0026ldquo;You had it before, now you still have it. But how did you get it to begin with?\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne thing she\u0026rsquo;s learned, which can be said for a majority of research in IC, is that it comes down to the people. Who is involved with a school and what connections do they have to a particular subject? If a connection has worked in CS in the past or may be passionate about adding that to the school, the results indicate the school is much more likely to employ that subject.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMakes sense, right?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;If a school has someone who can teach computer science and there are parents saying we need to teach computer science, then whether it\u0026rsquo;s rural or urban or high or low income, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter,\u0026rdquo; Parker said. \u0026ldquo;They will have computer science. But if there\u0026rsquo;s no one there to push them, it\u0026rsquo;s much less likely.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s not just a person, either. Organizations like Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/constellations.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EConstellations Center for Equity in Computing\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ceismc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECenter for Education Integrating Science, Math, and Computing\u003C\/a\u003E are also championing K-12 CS educational opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, Parker said, being successful is a bit more complicated than just serving CS up to the masses in communities that are unfamiliar with these and other organizations.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Computer science isn\u0026rsquo;t the end all, be all,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;If a school is in a more agricultural-based county, that may benefit the school more than a heavy computer science program would. It\u0026rsquo;s about finding how computer science can most benefit students in different ways for different areas.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most encouraging thing about that research, Parker said, was that the failure of her original study showed her one important piece of information.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;You don\u0026rsquo;t need high income to have computer science,\u0026rdquo; she said. \u0026ldquo;It really can be for everyone. That\u0026rsquo;s an important piece of information to know.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EParker is aiming to finish her Ph.D. work in the fall and will decide between pursuing a faculty position, which she is leaning toward now, or other opportunities that may present themselves down the road. Former Georgia Tech Professor \u003Cstrong\u003EMark Guzdial\u003C\/strong\u003E, now a faculty member at the University of Michigan, is Parker\u0026rsquo;s advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Miranda Parker is investigating the qualities in high schools that lead to having a CS program in Georgia. One thing she\u2019s learned, which can be said for a majority of research in IC, is that it comes down to the people."}],"uid":"33939","created_gmt":"2019-04-25 22:05:16","changed_gmt":"2019-04-25 22:05:16","author":"David Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-04-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"620927":{"id":"620927","type":"image","title":"Miranda Parker","body":null,"created":"1556228807","gmt_created":"2019-04-25 21:46:47","changed":"1556228807","gmt_changed":"2019-04-25 21:46:47","alt":"Miranda Parker stands by the street","file":{"fid":"236482","name":"Parker rotator.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Parker%20rotator.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Parker%20rotator.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":117463,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Parker%20rotator.jpg?itok=6L6Ai0Pw"}}},"media_ids":["620927"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/academics\/human-centered-computing-phd-program","title":"Human-Centered Computing at Georgia Tech"}],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1299","name":"GVU Center"},{"id":"431631","name":"OMS"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDavid Mitchell\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.mitchell@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edavid.mitchell@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}