Recruit and Enroll Students
Why Recruit students?
You may be one of the fortunate teachers in 35 states of the US, Australia, Israel, or the United Kingdom where computer science either counts as an elective or is a required part of the curriculum. If so, students have a graduation incentive to take computer science. Even so, the gender and ethnic composition of non-required courses may not reflect your school's general population. It's important for many reasons (jobs, better technology, more productive workforce) to have all kinds of students interested in computer science.
Presentation by Joanne McGrath Cohoon
Dr. Cohoon prepared a slide presentation specifically for this course and they include great information and strategies - grounded in research - for recruiting students.
Joanne McGrath Cohoon is an NCWIT Senior Research Scientist and Research Associate Professor, Science, Technology, and Society at the University of Virginia who researches, publishes, and speaks on women's under-representation in IT and gender segregation in higher education. She has organized and led the Tapestry Workshops, which share strategies, research-based practices, and field-tested good ideas for teaching computer science in a way that reaches all students regardless of sex or ethnicity.
One Teacher' Story: Seth Reichelson
Brief Version (~5 minutes)
Detailed Version (~50 minutes)
What Steps Can You Take?
Change the Gender Composition of High School Computing Courses (Case Study 2): Attracting Female and Minority Students through Targeted Recruiting
Here is a checklist from the above resource, identifying considerations for recruiting:
Audience
Target audience - who are the students you are trying to reach?
Opinion leaders - who leads trends at your site?
Influencers - who influences your audience (teachers, counselors, parents)?Message
Needs, goals, interests of target sector
Challenging wisdom of typical choices
Truth in advertising - be up front about what your course offersMethod of Delivery
Medium, multiple media
Contact situation - are you meeting them at an open house, after class, etc.?
Deliverer - who is the best person to deliver the message? a student? a parent?Leveraging & Building Relationships
Existing efforts, contacts - what else is going on in your school (robotics team)? in your state (CSTA group)?Problems & Opposition
Costs, resources
Opposing viewpoints
Misconceptions
Competing pressures
Beliefs about whether they can belongTime Frame, Timing, & Repetition
Typical planning, decision making - when do students choose courses?
Multiple times
Imminent entry v. long-term influence
Recruit students to join your Mobile CSP course
Mobile CSP's Student Recruitment folder provides some sample poster ideas to help get students to sign up for Mobile CSP at your school along with other materials.