Session 38: Decoding the Coding Problem: How Technical Phobias are Affecting our students

Abstract

Session overview:

Students in Computer Science and Mathematics learn programming as an essential element of their degree programmes – it is a pivotal skill. In Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at 14-16 (GCSE age), the correlation between student attitudes to programming and success expectancy is well researched.  In 2021, it was reported that there was an association between self-efficacy and understanding in the field of coding, and that females had lower self-efficacy than males. Research also indicates that girls generally have a less positive attitude to computer science than boys. Anecdotally, teaching across the entire undergraduate and postgraduate cohort in the HITS faculty indicates a negative bias towards coding, despite the necessity of the task across the entire STEM field. It is clear from this research that a negative attitude towards coding affects the outcomes of students, and disproportionately female students.

A key finding in 2020 was that confidence in mathematics was the most strongly correlated variable with confidence in coding. Last year, McCabe and Burrell presented their work at the SATH conference which indicated that 40% of school children did not enjoy learning mathematics, the percentage of students passing their GCSE mathematics was declining and at LJMU 36.4% of students who did not like maths reported themselves as mathsphobic.

It is clear from this research that opinions and exposure to subjects such as mathematics and programming have a huge impact on academic outcomes, and we aim to conduct a study to determine why Maths and Coding phobia exist, so that we can remove those barriers.

Key learning points from this session:

We believe that a key element in reducing phobias is educating the educators on why these phobias exist, and how we can tailor our teaching and material to circumvent some of the issues. Attending this session will enhance staff’s ability to effectively teach students in ways that can counterbalance any preconceived notions or phobias these students might have.

Decoding the Coding Problem: How Technical Phobias are Affecting our students PowerPoint. Only LJMU staff and students have access to this resource.