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Attempting to Bridge the Gender Sidedness Gap in CS

Education through Differentiated Instruction and

Culturally Responsive Teaching

V.Vidyashankar

5910-01 Applied Professional Enquiry

An Applied Research Proposal Presented in Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Education

University of the People

Dr. Dan McCollum

October 28, 2024

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Table of Contents

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………3

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..4

Purpose of the study…………………………………………………………………………….4

Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………4

Challenges……………………………………………………………………………………...4

Context…………………………………………………………………………………………6

Statement of the problem………………………………………………………………………6

Rationale………………………………………………………………………………………..7

Prior Interventions……………………………………………………………………………...7

Research Questions………………………………………………………………………………..8

Significance of the study…………………………………………………………………………..8

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………9

Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………..9

Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………….11

Discussion of Findings…………………………………………………………………………...20

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….21

References………………………………………………………………………………………..24
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Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of differentiated instruction (DI) and culturally

responsive teaching (CRT) within the context of Computer Science (CS) education. CS is a

subject that is amenable to these strategies because it can be approached from a wide variety of

perspectives. With the growing diversity in classrooms and the increasing demand for CS skills,

educators face the challenge of meeting the needs of learners with varied backgrounds, learning

styles, and prior knowledge. Differentiated instruction aims to tailor learning experiences to

individual students, while CRT emphasizes the importance of integrating students' cultural

experiences into the curriculum. By incorporating examples of diverse CS professionals and

showing how technology can address challenges specific to various cultural communities, CRT

helps learners see themselves reflected in the field. This representation can reduce stereotype

threats and increase a sense of belonging in the classroom. The goal was to collect enough data

to generate some conclusions in this regard. Both of these strategies were tried out by using

sound methodologies like introducing visual descriptors, tiered assignments and handouts, text

and written material for DI and priming the lectures with real-world experiences and examples

that learners could relate to for CRT.

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Introduction

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to explore the effectiveness of teaching strategies in high school.

Particularly for the quantitative sciences like Math and Computer Science. One of the most

intriguing questions to me is how does one go about measuring the effectiveness of a particular

strategy or a combination of them to improve learning outcomes. Just as one goes about adding

new features to a particular product to enhance its appeal to the end user and possibly try and

differentiate it amongst other similar ones in the market, or provide patches and upgrades to a

software product, how does one improve learner cognitive levels so that better understanding is

achieved. This in turn has the potential to impact class learning outcomes. The researcher was

interested in these questions particularly in the realms of Computer Science (Johnson, 2012;

McTaggart,1997; Schmuck,1997).

Literature Review

There has been a surge in the techniques of differentiated instruction (DI) and Culturally

responsive teaching (CRT) from a literature perspective. There are many psychological theories

like Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner,1983), Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

(Vygotksy,1962), Bruner’s psychological theory (Bruner,1961), Bandura’s self-efficacy theory

(Bandura,1977), Piaget’s concrete operational theory (Piaget,1947), and Tomlinson’s

differentiated instruction theory (Tomlinson, 2014) and these form the basis of the techniques

and strategies. The ultimate goal of any good teacher is to deploy the strategies and technologies

available in such a way so as to improve learning outcomes. This is the big picture, particularly

in developing countries, some aspects of which are covered in this review. At the high school

level, niche software has been found to elevate levels of understanding in mathematics helping
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young learners form better connections with other aspects of the subject which in turn is at the

threshold of math and computer science. Failure to see applicability and understanding very

often leads to student disconnect in the classroom. Teachers need to develop some attributes like

self-efficacy in addition to having the confidence in tackling many diverse situations and connect

well if learning outcomes are to be improved. Generally, the CRT provides the ‘soft’ skill base

while DI provides the ‘hard’ skill base if one could draw parallels with corporate scenarios.

Having taught online as well, the researcher posits that blended learning has the potential to

improve results. For this to happen, a certain level of self-motivation is a must and in the event of

a flipped classroom, it most certainly is. Although there is plenty of research and information on

each of these strategies, the actual combination of DI and CRT for driving and improving learner

outcomes in Computer Science education is scarce. This study is an attempt to bridge that gap

particularly with CS education in girls from a programming perspective.

Challenges Faced

The researcher’s original plan was to pool students from the CS class at an International School

offering the IBDP programs. The challenge came in the form of a reduced data set.Due to a shift

in career aspirations or otherwise, the original data set’s size was reduced. Therefore, the study's

validity could be questioned as a very small sample set might not yield any serious conclusions.

The researcher’s initial plan was to compare the results of the learners after the strategies were

implemented to the performance of the previous batch . To achieve this comparison, the

researcher intended to introduce visual descriptors, tiered assignments, reverse knowledge

transfer sessions and generally get first-hand information from the locus of observation, which is

the class. It is clear that the achievement level of the students is tied to their participation, their

enthusiasm for the subject and their general performance on the formative exams. If the overall
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performance on the formatives is much better than the previous batch wherein the strategies were

not implemented consciously, then it bodes a certain degree of success for the researcher.

However, the researcher consulted with the course instructor on this matter as regards the

number of data points for the study. Since the number of data points was only 5, which is very

small for drawing any serious conclusions, it was decided that a secondary data set would best

suit the purpose. The topic of the study was modulated to a certain extent according to the data

set.

Context

The study will be based on the effectiveness of some strategies like Differentiated Instruction

and Culturally Responsive Teaching on Computer Science Education. In particular, the

researcher takes an in-depth look at programming as a component of CS education. The

relevance of the study to the IBDP program is borne by the fact that at the HL level, learners

need to have a good grasp of programming concepts. Even at the SL level, learners need to be

well versed with pseudo code as well as have knowledge of programming constructs and be able

to write simple programs.

Statement of the Problem

The problem is that new schools who are implementing IB and IGCSE programs need to have

faculty who are well versed with the nuances of the syllabi and the way their respective courses

are structured and aligned with the basic principles. There is rigor and structure defined in every

aspect of teaching for these particular programs right from teaching modules. Connecting them

to different parts, to setting of question papers and finally assessing them. New teachers might

encounter a wide variety of learners in their classroom. These could range from learners who

have continued from the Middle Years Program to the Diploma Program or learners who have
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transitioned from a completely different system of education to the IB or CAIE programs.

Sometimes teachers may be required to quickly scale up and deliver results in a class that sees

male and female children in different proportions, with different perceptions, backgrounds, skill

level and talent. In order to guide their strategy, the present study hopes to shed light on the most

effective strategy or a combination of them which draw from existing learning theories for

driving progress and improve overall increase in cognitive levels( Painter, D.D (n.d)).

Rationale

The reason why the researcher believe this study is important is because it has the potential to

provide insights into how learners engage with the subject matter and what can be done to

improve it. For example, the researcher notes that the number of male children taking CS as a

subject in the IBDP programs is more as compared to female children. This leads one to believe

that, in general, it could be a case of inherent learner aptitudes. The researcher was interested in

learning why it was so that male children take to programming and hence CS much faster as

compared to female children. Once validated, one could get clues into learner aptitudes and the

underlying psychological factors, which when introduced as interventions, could likely increase

the proportion of female children entering CS and hence the STEM fields.

Prior Interventions

The pandemic brought about changes in the workforce. The researcher had experience with a

few male children taking CS in an online environment for the IBDP program. The researcher

knew that introducing visual descriptors would enhance learning and it did. That set the

researcher thinking on the path of evaluating the factors and the various means by which CS is

made accessible to learners. Later, the researcher also had the experience of female learners

zoning out and eventually dropping the subject. The researcher wanted to take a look at hard data
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points and the IOI data presents an interesting perspective on the topic of learner engagement in

programming with possible dichotomy of factors as it pertains to male and female.

Research Questions

Some questions arise at this juncture particularly as regards instruction in the quantitative

sciences and it will be the researcher’s attempt to narrow the focus on the quantitative aspects.

Two relevant questions are as follows:

• What is the impact that the intervention or combination of strategies have on the

engagement and hence the achievement levels of the learners during a reasonable time

frame?

• What are some of the strategies from a general standpoint pertaining to computer science

and mathematics that have a direct impact on the ‘understanding’ of subject matter?

Significance of the Study

The researcher believes that this study can shed light on the way the quantitative sciences are

taught and knowledge advanced in the subjects of Mathematics and Computer Science wherein

aspects are linked. According to Umameh (2011), mathematics is the foundation and an essential

tool for the nation’s scientific and economic growth. In addition to mathematics, computer science

follows suit as a nation’s technological prowess depends upon it producing youth who are well

versed in the use of computers. Mulder (2015) discovered that differentiation is widely

acknowledged as an essential instructional approach for all students, as it is expected to improve

each student’s learning, there is little known about the precise relationship between differentiation

and student learning. The present study will be an attempt to discover the connections between

these two parts. Although Hayes and Dele (2001) posit that it is difficult to determine the potential
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effects of differentiated instruction on student achievement as the pact of differentiation varies by

school, the researchers believes some solid methodologies for producing quick noticeable results

should appear.

Summary
There has been a surge in the techniques of differentiated instruction (DI) and Culturally

responsive teaching (CRT) from a literature perspective. There are many psychological theories

and these form the basis of the techniques and strategies. The ultimate goal of any good teacher

is to deploy the strategies and technologies available in such a way so as to improve learning

outcomes. This is the big picture, particularly in developing countries, some aspects of which are

covered in this review. This, in my opinion, is what every teacher should strive to obtain. Failure

to see applicability and understanding very often leads to student disconnect in the classroom.

Teachers need to develop some attributes like self-efficacy in addition to having the confidence

in tackling many diverse situations and connect well if learning outcomes are to be improved.

Generally, the CRT provides the ‘soft’ skill base while DI provides the ‘hard’ skill base if one

could draw parallels with corporate scenarios. The researcher opines that blended learning is the

way forward to improve results.

Methodology

Research Procedure

The datasets and the analysis presented here are secondary and are based on some conjectures.

The researcher makes the prediction that individuals with spatial and visualization skills usually

fare better at programming than those who lack these. This could be the basis of differentiation.

Content is better processed when there is a visual component to it. The researcher posits that
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this could be the reason why programming and CS in general see a greater proportion of boys

taking to this field and eventually advancing it. The study also takes a look at some other factors

that girls usually possess that could help aid their programming skills thus bringing about other

differentiating factors. The researcher also opines that there are some other factors, which when

channelled appropriately could serve to increase the proportion of girl children taking to CS.

Dataset

The researcher looked at the IOI website and compiled the following data which is

the basis of the study and the timeframe for compilation and analysis was 2 days.

The link to the Dataset is

C:\Users\vidya\OneDrive\Desktop\IOI_Dataset.xlsx

What this dataset is : This secondary dataset was compiled from the IOI Website.

It represents the number of leaders and contestants, both male and female in the

International Informatics Olympiad, a global programming competition from the years 1989

to 2014.

Why this dataset: Objective was to compare the extent of participation of male children and

female children in the IOI exam held annually at locations all over the world. This data will

yield insights into the gender sidedness. The goal is to tie it to factors that cause the sidedness

in participation and look at differentiation strategies from a psychological metric perspective

as well as a culturally responsive strategy that can be used to improve the extent of

participation of more female children.

The link to the medal tally over the past few years is here

Hall of Fame (ioinformatics.org)

The proportion of boys who won medals far seem to outweigh those by female children.
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How the dataset was analysed:

Step 1 : The number of years was plotted on the X axis and the number of female participants

was plotted on the Y axis

Step 2 : The number of years was plotted on the X axis and the number of male participants

was plotted on the Y axis

Step 3 : The 2 plots were overlaid to obtain a visual comparison. Trends were observed.

Step 4 : Information about the top performers were collected from the Hall of Fame IOI link

as given above.

Preliminary Observations : Boys far outperform girls in terms of participation as well as

winning medals.

Other pertinent facts : In Computer Science, female participation has been on the decline

during the past decade ( National Center for Women and Information Technology, 2011).

In 2009, only 11 % of undergraduate CS degrees from major research universities were

granted to women, and between the years of 2000-2009, there has been a 79 % decline in first

year undergraduate education interested in pursuing Computer Science ( National Center for

Women and Informational Technology, 2011 ) (Sullivan, 2016).

One reason why men outnumber women in college Computer Science and related majors is

that girls are less likely to take Advanced Placement ( AP ) exams in high school that could

help prepare them to enter these majors. In high school, girls are less likely than boys to take

numerous college preparatory science and math AP exams including Calculus, Computer

Science and Statistics (Hill et al, 2010).

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Data Analysis:

Plots were used to obtain trendlines using Excel (2021) and this was appropriate in order to

give a solid visual description of the data at first glance.

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Clearly, the data indicates that the performance and participation of male leaders is greater as

compared to female leaders. Also, the representation of male children in the IOI far exceeds

the participation of female children. The graph clearly indicates an upward trend for boys while

that of girls is a plateau. The initial question posed was the combination of strategies, the way

learners engage and ‘understand’ of subject content. In the present case, in order to

introduce interventions to bridge gender sidedness in programming, an important component

of CS education, it is important to differentiate instruction for girls by understanding

neurological factors.
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Possible changes

How might we attempt to change this?

The researcher now presents some interesting aspects of learning by looking at some functions

of the brain by doing a comparative study between males and females.

Broca’s area (Burns,1010) which is the motor area for speech and possesses grammatical

structures and word production tends to be highly active in females and the presence of

grammatical structures can be linked to syntactical structures offered by programming

languages and this can be tapped into by affective thought processes.

The cerebellum which is the doing center – a region of the brain that plays an important role in

the integration of sensory perception, coordination and motor control. This tends to be larger in

the male brain and hence males are generally, very quick at typing out or using the keyboard

for quickly laying out their solutions and testing them out leading to productive outcomes at

time driven event competitions like the IOI. Learning takes center forward through the

psychomotor domain (Simpson,1977).

The researcher argues that just as the participation of boys in competitions like the IOI has seen

a significant increase, it should be possible to increase the slope of the participation of girls in

more computing related activities though not to the same degree. One of the key notions in

differentiated instruction particularly for girls to participate more is to appeal to their aesthetic
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senses and the emotional component. For this to take place, the instruction should start early

through middle school because societal notions about a particular cohort not taking well to CS,

or its educational components must not be ingrained. If something like PBL which has now come

into vogue in higher school ( like the CAS component or the IA component in CS ) or some

miniaturized version of it can be implemented in the early years, changes will be started to be

made at the grassroots level. The researcher has had firsthand observation with girl students in

the earlier grades taking to computing soon. The difference is also one of attitude; females are

more geared towards cooperation while males are more hardwired towards competition

( Fisher,2006). This could be one of the reasons why in research women are successful and the

sidedness that is observed in exams like the IOI is not that pronounced (Maggiolo,2015).

At this juncture, the researcher would like to quote Ben-Ari (2001) who sees two distinct aspects

of computing that matter to the application of constructivism.

1) A beginning CS student has no effective model of a computer. Individualized notions of

constructivism can take place in the form of a cognitive structure based on sensory

experiences like reading, listening to lectures and working with a computer.

2) The computer forms an accessible ontological reality in that a ‘correct’ answer is easily

accessible and moreover, successful performance requires that a normative model of this

reality be constructed.

The researcher subscribes with the idea of a notional machine as postulated by du Boulay and

this can be introduced through culturally responsive teaching strategy (Codding,2021) for it to

slowly take shape in young learners minds particularly girl children. A notional machine stands

for the general properties of the machine that one is learning to control. The properties of the
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machine are implied by the constructs in the programming language employed but which also be

made explicit in teaching ( du Boulay, 1981). Program execution is best understood by notional

machines. Notional machines are tied to programming in that each language has its unique

notional machine. For example, a Java notional machine at a higher level of abstraction could

define the computer as a device that is capable of keeping track of objects that has been created

and to pass messages between these objects as instructed by method calls in a Java program

(Sorva, 2013).Generally, the idea of a notional machine can be introduced to female children

through symbolism. The affective component in female children is linked to their approach or

attitudes towards the subject. In young female children, the tendency to interact with computers

and use it towards programming can slowly be primed through instructional techniques that

emphasize culture, possibilities of aesthetic creation using the ‘notional machine’ and

emphasizing the diversity of applications. From an early age, the possibility of identification

with the machine exists because women are inherently good at multitasking in some specific

ways at least and so are computers as multiprocessors (Stoet, 2013). These aspects can be

ingrained in young female children.

Piagetian Schemas and Computing

The researcher now introduces a Schema (Bartlett, 1952), a term which is not consistently used

in literature. A schema is a mental representation for ‘old’ generic conceptual knowledge. The

knowledge is old in the sense that it is based on previous experience and is stored in long-term

memory rather than new in the sense of being currently experienced and constructed in working

memory. It deals with conceptual categories rather than specific instances or contexts. When a

female child encounters something like a ‘machine’ first, there is a construction that goes on in

the mind. The possibility of interaction with the device, possibility of it computing something,
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giving a concrete answer, possibility of it creating designs is likely to appeal to the aesthetic

senses of the child and the emotional connect starts getting formed. At this time, there is no

concept of a long- term memory. The ‘notional machine’ reinforcement starts taking shape by

repeated exposure and the prospects of the machine having definitive constructs (Kelly, 1955) of

its own in terms of the myriad tasks it can do, starts getting concretized and builds on the

working memory to getting pushed into the long-term memory caches of the young learner. Now

recall starts getting formed. There is no doubt that schemas are an important component of

expertise. In the past, many researchers have investigated the mental representations and

associated processes of novices and contrasted those with experts. One could extrapolate this to

the expertise of boys at the IOI in comparison to girls. The cognitive hardware that boys possess

might operate to a certain extent, but it is not the dominant force at play here. There is also some

aspect of innate talent but a readily accessible usable domain specific knowledge in the form of

accumulated schemas which are obtained through lengthy practice specifically tailored towards

competitions like the IOI. From a cultural standpoint, the researcher argues that introducing solid

feminine figures as fountainheads for young female children by speaking about their

contributions and their impact in the computing world would be the first step in this direction.

The other aspect, which the researcher introduces is the idea of a ‘placeholder’ within the

notional machine. A ‘placeholder’ is nothing but a sub-construct which takes the form of a

strategy which enables one to do things with the notional machine. One could imagine a

placeholder to be an association or contextual mapping that could involve a data structure and a

methodology of approaching a problem like dynamic programming, recursive, iterative, greedy

etc. The combinations of these produce a placeholder. As the young learner gets exposed to

various guiding paradigms, these placeholders get keeping pushed back till a new placeholder
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takes its place like a stack-like structure. It is eventually the transactions ( Dewey and Bentley,

1949) taking place between the observer ( the learner ), the notional machine and the

placeholders and the possibility of achieving the desired aestheticisms or the ‘correctness’ of a

solution that give rise to competence.

Schema dilution

The researcher would now like to postulate the effect of dilution of schemas. A schema has the

potential to be corrupted or deformed if not reinforced appropriately with new placeholders.

Many traditional systems of learning have destroyed young learners potential because the

schemas were not constructed in a progressive way. In an examination like the IOI, where

specialist training is imparted that cater to the aspects of speed, accuracy and knowledge, there is

indeed, a strong emphasis on schema building competence. When new female learners are

inducted into training programs that involve specialist exams like these, the possibility of their

schemas being diluted by influences from external sources due to the sheer number of male

learners might exist. Of course, it also depends on the mental constitution of female learners.

Therefore, the researcher posits that a separate training for young female learners that involve a

systematic reinforcement of their schemas be in place that exclusively focuses on their training

particularly in connection with performance on exams like these. This should not by any means,

misconstrued as impartiality of action but rather is a calibrated method of action based on the

data. If similar exams were held in middle schools, the researcher conjectures that the results

would not be so one sided or skewed.

A memetic schema can be defined as a fully formed approach that is transmitted from one mind

to another and when young learners collaborate on a problem as is typical in female learners,
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these memetic schemas get transmitted and reinforce each other. When memetic schemas bounce

off each other and the ways of learning and knowing are similar, evolutionary principles suggest

that these schemas propagate and build over time. These then have the potential to transform

results, albeit incrementally over time.

Discussion of findings

Preliminary observations indicate that dominance of male children in competitive exams like the

IOI ( or also the International Math Olympiad the IMO) is quite profound. Even the participation

of male leaders far exceed that of the female leaders from various countries. The researcher

attempted to connect learning of CS based concepts, the nature of the task which is

programming, societal norms and considerations and performance on these competitive

examinations. It seems plausible to suppose that the neural basis of programming is very closely

linked to that of learning languages in terms of the constructs that have in common from an

intersection standpoint. In one of the first study of its kind, Yun-Fei Liu of the JHU

Neuroplasticity and Development Lab went about finding which areas of the brain map to

programming domains. The lateral prefrontal cortex which handles reasoning and planning lit up

during coding activities ( Scharper, 2021).In general, boys are more likely to develop a speech or

language delay than girls and research in Britain has shown on average, females have a

significantly larger vocabulary, they acquire skills and words more quickly and they are also

ahead of males in their gesturing skills. Research has shown that the “language gene” FOXP2 is

found in higher levels in females. The question that naturally arises is if the loci of learning

language and programming are in one region and the FOX2 levels are higher in females ( Ben-

Aharon, 2021) from a general standpoint, what could possibly be the reasons for the much-

reduced participation of female children in competitions like the IOI. The researcher argues that
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training for female children should be differentiated both from a cultural perspective as well as

the strategies that are involved, if possible by delineating from an early age for example middle

school. The focus of this work is geared towards a specific exam like the IOI which has a certain

set of rules, a particular rubric under timed conditions, not all of which may really appeal to the

female learner. Hence the participation has not seen increased numbers though some countries

like Israel and Lithuania are doing their best to try and create equitable opportunities

(Dagiene,2014). Hence the researcher was cautious about the scenario that the data depicts in

that the slope of the line can be increased albeit not to the same degree. The researcher also

admits the approach and attitude of the learners has been different in that generally male learners

are geared towards competition while female learners are geared towards cooperation. This

might help explain why in research, there is a lot of collaboration and cooperation which does

involve a lot of women. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that the poor participation of female

children in exams like the IOI can be extrapolated to the real world of research. The researcher

lays out the ideas of notional machines, the device, the interaction along with some imaginative

constructs to develop a theory of learning in female children and advocates for separate training

regimens based on orientation and aptitude so that eventually their contributions and impact can

occupy a greater percentage of the computing space than what it currently is.

Conclusion

This study was motivated by the fact that strategies of differentiated instruction and culturally

responsive teaching could be effectively applied to improve results in CS education although

data on the combination of strategies particularly as it pertains to CS is scarce. A lot more needs

to be done in this regard before some metrics can be formulated. The researcher does believe that

there should be enough data points in due time to gauge the effectiveness. Initially, the
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researcher was looking to pool data points from a CS class in an international school but due to

various reasons, a secondary dataset was chosen. This was mainly done to forge some

conclusions based on data. Therefore besides a few observations which could likely be

extrapolated, the researcher did not have first-hand experience with the data. A secondary dataset

from the IOI website was chosen and analyzed and some trends were observed. The core

questions were formulated and wrapped around the strategies. This was the main difficulty as

observations are one aspect while conclusion depends on the application of strategies over a

certain time frame which the researcher did not have. Future lines of thought have emerged

though as the researcher does believe that the proportion of women in STEM fields should be

increased and for this to happen, changes have to be effected at the grassroots level. Ongoing

neural research has suggested areas in the brain that pertain to programming, a vital component

of CS education. Further research will yield greater insights into our approaches for CS

education for women. Scientific research should transcend societal myths and one example

which the researcher would like to highlight is the aspect of multitasking in which women were

deemed to be better than men, but research has shown that there are certain areas of multitasking

where this is true. Another line of thought has emerged in that data pertaining to competence in

math could be analyzed with possible implications for connections to CS as well. Trend lines

could be observed. All this research is geared towards finding ways for improving the percentage

of women in STEM related fields and efforts to bridge the gap have to be made at the school

level. If certain exams fail to capture the essence of learner’s talent and this is in a way inevitable

because of the structure, the associated rubrics etc., then some exams could be tailored made

around the way learners minds function, difference in aptitudes and approaches. Project based
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learning should make its way to middle school and learner creativity to be expressed and

oriented for learners to be happy productive citizens.

The implications for the researcher’s teaching practice are manifold: one unique things is the

approach of teaching CS to a wider mixed bag of learners with possibilities of group learning and

separate instruction protocols for female learners geared towards specialist exam scenarios. The

researcher, in hindsight, takes away some profound ideas in psychology using models to derive

ways of learning, reinforcement and novel ways to approaching teaching of complex concepts to

beginning students who might be lost by traditional approaches.

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