Motivation. Asking for help is an essential skill in computing. However, many students face barriers to help-seeking, such as not being aware of help-seeking resources, doubting the usefulness of resources, fearing judgment from their peers, or not wanting to rely on others for help. Prior work on help-seeking in computing contexts has not directly considered how to include student perspectives in the design of help-seeking structures. Moreover, marginalized students face additional challenges due to inequities they face in computing. Therefore, it is imperative to elicit the voices of students marginalized in the community to address all challenges students face.

Background: Prior research argues that positive learning environments support student learning, belonging, and the desire to continue learning. In order to create joyful learning environments, we must first study what characterizes such learning spaces. However, prior research has not yet asked students what makes CS learning environments joyful. Objective: In this study, we sought to understand students’ joyful experiences in secondary CS classrooms and the elements of the learning environments that fostered those experiences. Method: We interviewed 8 students who had joyful CS experiences about those experiences, the environments in which they occured, and about the pedagogies their teachers used. We then interviewed 5 of their teachers to better understand the environments and pedagogies that cultivated joyful CS experiences. Findings: We found 4 elements in common in each student’s experience: teachers worked to relate to students, prioritize a relationship with learning, frame CS with purpose, and reify a joyful CS experience. Implications: These findings offer the opportunity for researchers and educators to reconsider pedagogies and design learning environments that engender joyful CS experiences for students. This will better enable students to build relationships with CS.

Objectives: Assessments play a crucial role in computer science courses by providing insights into student learning. While previous research has explored various aspects of assessments, little attention has been given to assessment policies that instructors devise and their impact on students’ experiences. Our goal was to investigate: How do assessment policies shape marginalized students’ experiences in coding classes?Method: We conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with post-secondary students currently enrolled in or completed a class where their code was evaluated. To recruit, we primarily targeted students from underrepresented racial groups in computer science. Many of these students attended large 4-year public universities. During the interviews, we inquired about students’ experience with different assessment policies and how those policies affected their lives and experiences completing the assignments. Results: Our findings revealed ten distinct ways policy and students’ lives interacted to create or heighten inequities, which significantly shaped marginalized students’ lives. Many policies did not consider the unique experiences of their students and students’ needs. Additionally, due to unclear and strict policies, students experienced frustration, confusion, and demotivation, consequently diminishing their sense of belonging in computer science and weakening their self-efficacy as programmers. This reveals the negative consequences of poor assessment policy choices and provides insight into how assessment policies can create barriers to learning computer science for marginalized students.

The ability to effectively and efficiently test software is an important practice in software testing that is often under-emphasized in computer science education. Many students find learning about testing to be uninteresting and difficult to learn. This causes numerous students to develop inadequate testing habits, which can be detrimental to their professional careers. To encourage students to develop better testing habits, we used gamification to make the learning experience more engaging and enjoyable. In this paper we explore this idea by integrating gamification and statement coverage into a turn-based game called CoverBot. To test the effectiveness of CoverBot with respect to both teaching statement coverage and increasing engagement and enjoyment, we conducted a user study. We found that gamification makes the learning about statement coverage more engaging and enjoyable while also enhancing the participants performance and understanding of statement coverage.