[Paper Review] Female Teenagers and Coding: Create Gender Sensitive and Creative Learning Environments

Bernadette Spieler, Wolfgang Slany|arXiv (Cornell University)|May 11, 2018

Teaching and Learning Programming25 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper investigates how gender-sensitive, creative learning environments can increase female teenagers' engagement in coding. Using Pocket Code within the No One Left Behind H2020 project, it demonstrates that classroom context—emphasizing identity, emotion, and cultural expression—matters more than the coding tool itself in sustaining girls' interest and reducing gender disparities in ICT.

ABSTRACT

The number of women in technical fields is far below the average number of males, especially in developed countries. Gender differences in STEM are already present in secondary schools in students aged between 12 to 15 years. Adolescence is a critical time for identity formation, and self-attributes are a source for internal conflicts, especially for female teenagers. It is during this intermediate female adolescence that girls begin to make critical career choices, which therefore makes this a key age to reinforce them and reduce the gender disparities in ICT. Computational thinking skills are important from a philosophical point of view, since they allow us to understand the foundations of rational thought in a clear, easily understandable, but also inspiring and challenging way. To address the gender bias in schools, one of the goals of the European H2020 project No One Left Behind (NOLB) included integrating Pocket Code, a free open source app developed by the non-profit project Catrobat, into different school lessons. Through game design, Pocket Code allows teenage girls to incorporate diversity and inclusiveness, as well as the ability to reflect their cultural identity, their emotions, their likes, and their ways of interacting and thinking. To evaluate the impact of the use of the app in these courses, we captured the results on engaging girls in design and coding activities. For this paper, the authors present the data of surveys during the second cycle of the project. With a focus on female teenagers, the results allow us to conclude that a suitable classroom setting is significantly more important for them than the coding tool itself.

Motivation & Objective

• Address the persistent gender gap in STEM fields, particularly among female teenagers aged 12–15, a critical period for identity and career identity formation.
• Investigate how integrating creative coding tools like Pocket Code into school curricula can counter gender bias and promote inclusivity in ICT education.
• Examine the role of classroom environment and pedagogical approach in shaping girls' engagement with coding beyond the technical tool used.
• Support the development of gender-inclusive learning spaces that allow girls to express cultural identity, emotions, and personal values through coding.
• Contribute to reducing gender disparities in ICT by fostering computational thinking through creative, identity-affirming activities in secondary education.

Proposed method

• Employed Pocket Code, a free, open-source visual programming app developed by Catrobat, to enable game design and creative coding in secondary school classrooms.
• Integrated Pocket Code into diverse school subjects as part of the European H2020 project No One Left Behind (NOLB), emphasizing interdisciplinary and student-centered learning.
• Designed classroom activities that encouraged female students to express personal and cultural identity, emotions, and social interactions through code.
• Conducted surveys during the second cycle of the NOLB project to evaluate student engagement and learning outcomes in coding contexts.
• Applied constructivist learning principles, where students actively build knowledge through creative, reflective, and collaborative coding tasks.
• Focused on qualitative and quantitative survey data to assess the impact of the learning environment on girls' motivation and perceived competence in coding.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How does a gender-sensitive, creative learning environment influence female teenagers’ engagement in coding activities?
• RQ2 To what extent does the classroom context matter compared to the choice of coding tool in sustaining girls’ interest in ICT?
• RQ3 In what ways can coding be used as a medium for self-expression, identity exploration, and emotional reflection among adolescent girls?
• RQ4 How do creative coding activities that incorporate cultural identity and personal values affect girls’ perceived competence and belonging in technical fields?
• RQ5 What role does computational thinking play in empowering female adolescents through a human-centered, expressive approach to coding?

Key findings

• A supportive, gender-sensitive classroom environment significantly increased female teenagers’ engagement in coding, often more than the specific coding tool used.
• Girls expressed greater motivation and sense of ownership when coding activities allowed for personal and cultural self-expression, such as reflecting on emotions and social interactions.
• The integration of Pocket Code into interdisciplinary lessons led to higher reported levels of enjoyment and perceived competence in computational thinking among female participants.
• Survey data indicated that the opportunity to create stories and games reflecting personal values and identity was a key driver of sustained interest in coding.
• The study found that classroom culture—emphasizing collaboration, creativity, and reflection—was more influential in reducing gender disparities than technical features of the coding platform.
• Results suggest that fostering identity affirmation and emotional expression in coding education is critical for retaining female students in ICT pathways during adolescence.