This project is developing, delivering and evaluating an innovative first-year seminar for computing majors that is designed to increase retention, completion, and success among students, especially women and those from underrepresented groups. Elements from successful first-year engineering courses, introductory computing courses, general first-year seminars, and the new AP CS Principles course combine to create a seminar that provides new computing majors with an overview of the discipline, foundational technical skills, a group design experience, and relevant professional development. A team of computing professors, staff with student affairs experience, and undergraduate students is delivering this highly interactive and learner-centered course. Peer mentors facilitate cohort building and provide informal advice, while undergraduate peer teachers directly support learning. The project is developing a novel course model and materials that are grounded in the research literature on student success, developing a framework for peer-led team learning in introductory courses in computing disciplines, and performing a thorough assessment of the outcomes of these activities. This intervention is improving the pedagogy in beginning computing and technology courses by assessing interventions that increase the retention and success of students in general, and women and underrepresented minorities in particular, resulting in a larger and richer pool of talent to solve important problems. The project also includes regional workshops to share course materials and insights with computing faculty from local two and four- year institutions.
