Young Women Growing Up Thinking Computationally (YO-GUTC) is the joint evolution of two successful broadening participation in computing programs: the Young Women in Computing program at New Mexico State University and the GUTS y Girls program at Santa Fe Institute. YO-GUTC is a 3-year program, targeting at least 120 high school women, and composed of a series of intensive summer workshops and community celebrations of young women in computing in the Las Cruces and the Santa Fe areas of New Mexico. YO-GUTC explores why some young Hispanic females who are interested in computer science majors or careers decide to leave the pipeline in high school while others persist.
YO-GUTC will design, implement and evaluate instructional materials for summer workshops, develop an online community and social network, and study whether addressing the preparation gap, building community and online support systems, and aligning computing with Hispanic cultural values, can sustain young women's participation and interest in computing. Through longitudinal (over 3 years) interviews and surveys, students will be asked to share narratives about their developing computer science identities, computer science participation, and aspirations. YO-GUTC will pose research questions related to the underrepresentation of Hispanic women in computing, and investigate interventions to increase and sustain their interest and participation.
