• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, August 1, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Science

Low-cost intervention boosts undergraduate interest in computer science

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 6, 2019
in Science
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

A recent study finds that an online intervention taking less than 30 minutes significantly increased interest in computer science for both male and female undergraduate students. However, when it comes to the intervention’s impact on classroom performance, the picture gets more complicated.

“Our focus was on determining how and whether a ‘growth mindset’ intervention would affect student interest and performance in computer science, so we developed an experiment that would allow us to explore those questions,” says Jeni Burnette, first author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State University.

“We knew from previous work in other contexts that a growth mindset – the belief that human attributes are malleable – can have significant consequences for self-regulation and goal achievement,” Burnette says. “In this instance, the growth mindset is that people can develop their computer science ability. Put another way, it’s the opposite of thinking that some people are talented at computer science and other people aren’t.”

For the study, researchers worked with 491 students taking introductory computer science courses at seven different universities. One group of 245 students was shown four online growth mindset modules over the course of the class, with each module focused on what growth mindsets are and stressing that anyone can learn computer science if they apply themselves. A control group of 246 students was shown four online modules that focused on student health, such as making sure to exercise and get enough sleep. Each module was fairly brief, with the total running time for all four growth mindset modules coming in at about 27 minutes.

All 491 students were surveyed before the intervention and after seeing all four modules. Surveys assessed each student’s interest in majoring or getting a job in computer science.

The researchers found that students who received the growth mindset intervention were more interested in computer science than students who received the control group intervention, even when accounting for their interest level prior to the intervention. What’s more, the increase in interest was identical for both male and female students who received the growth mindset intervention.

However, the intervention alone did not appear to have a direct impact on student performance in the computer science course. Though it’s not quite accurate to say that there was no effect.

“We did not get an immediate effect of the intervention on performance,” Burnette says. “But we did find that the growth mindset intervention led students to place more value on the course, meaning they thought the course was more important. And, we found that value correlated with students’ final grade in the class. So, there is a positive, indirect effect of the intervention on performance.”

###

The paper, “A Growth Mind-Set Intervention Improves Interest but Not Academic Performance in the Field of Computer Science,” is published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. The paper was co-authored by Crystal Hoyt and Barry Lawson of the University of Richmond; V. Michelle Russell of the University of North Carolina Greensboro; Carol Dweck of Stanford University; and Eli Finkel of Northwestern University.

The work was done with support from the National Science Foundation, under grant number 1327561.

Media Contact
Matt Shipman
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

https://news.ncsu.edu/2019/05/intervention-boosts-comp-sci-interest/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550619841631

Tags: BehaviorComputer ScienceEducationPersonality/AttitudeScience/MathSocial/Behavioral ScienceTechnology/Engineering/Computer ScienceUndergraduate
Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Five or more hours of smartphone usage per day may increase obesity

July 25, 2019
IMAGE

NASA’s terra satellite finds tropical storm 07W’s strength on the side

July 25, 2019

NASA finds one burst of energy in weakening Depression Dalila

July 25, 2019

Researcher’s innovative flood mapping helps water and emergency management officials

July 25, 2019
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Study Reveals Beta-HPV Directly Causes Skin Cancer in Immunocompromised Individuals

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9
  • Sustainability Accelerator Chooses 41 Promising Projects Poised for Rapid Scale-Up

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Moffitt Cancer Center Initiates Study to Enhance Advanced Lung Cancer Outcomes in Black Patients

5 Innovations Securing Water Sources and Ensuring Availability

“Shore Wars: New Study Tackles Oyster-Mangrove Conflicts to Boost Coastal Restoration”

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.