Title:
Addressing the Gender Gap in Computer Programming Through the Design and Development of Serious Games [Download]Authors:
de Carvalho, Carlos Vaz and Cerar, Špela and Rugelj, Jože and Tsalapatas, Hariklia and Heidmann, Olivier
Index Terms:
Games;Programming profession;Education;Encoding;Engineering profession;Programming;coding;serious games;game design based learning;gender gap;girl coding
Abstract:
The gap between male and female participation in computer science education and careers is a worldwide issue that must be addressed by introducing early methodological learning interventions that make computer science attractive to all, that is by answering the following issues: a) misperception among educators, learners, parents and youngsters on the suitability of computer science careers to girls and b) a wrong assumption of an insufficient preparedness to do it successfully. This article presents a European initiative - CODING4GIRLS - that proposes to teach coding through a game design and development process based on a design thinking methodological approach that is linked to creativity and human-centered solutions. In this methodology, students address increasingly complex real-life challenges by designing and developing awareness raising serious games for which they need to learn specific coding concepts.
DOI:
How to cite:
de Carvalho, Carlos Vaz and Cerar, Špela and Rugelj, Jože and Tsalapatas, Hariklia and Heidmann, Olivier, "Addressing the Gender Gap in Computer Programming Through the Design and Development of Serious Games" in IEEE Revista Iberoamericana de Tecnologias del Aprendizaje, pp. 242-251, Aug. 2020. doi: 10.1109/RITA.2020.3008127