FACT: Femineer® Active Learning with Computational Thinking

The Cal Poly Pomona College of Engineering Femineer® Program is a unique and innovative program devoted to inspiring and empowering K-12 female students to pursue STEM majors and careers. Created in 2013, the program enhances the College of Engineering's commitment to support underserved populations by recruiting and graduating increased numbers of historically underrepresented students. This mixed method study determined what factors are involved in identifying STEM-confidence in a female-only classroom environment in a middle school, and if students developed algorithmic reasoning or computational thinking interacting with the new Innovative Coding curriculum. The results from this study showed that Femineer® students regulated their own learning by working together and individually to construct and code the Ardibot. This was achievable since the instructor and teachers provided clear instruction to the students about the Innovative Coding curriculum.