Working with practitioners, stakeholders, and decision makers in both industry and education, my research on underrepresentation in computing investigates factors that increase diversity throughout the computing pipeline. Combining social theory with empirical data analysis, I help identify and explain practices that attract and retain underrepresented groups in computing. Topics within this field of my scholarship include examining how and why faculty adopt innovative teaching practices; what features of computer science departments influence undergraduate retention; evaluating targeted projects such as research experiences for undergraduate (REUs), pre-college experiences, and enhanced training programs; and how classroom climates can contribute to, or harm, diversity in computing.
Selected Publications:
Cowit, N. Q. & Barker, L. (2023). How do teaching practices and use of conferencing features relate to student belonging in synchronous remote computing learning environments? Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 15 – 18, 2023.
Cowit, N. Q.* & Barker, L. J. (2022). Student perspectives on distraction and engagement in the synchronous remote classroom. In Digital distractions in the college classroom (pp. 243-266). IGI Global. doi> 10.4018/978-1-7998-9243-4.ch012
Kilkenny, M., Robledo Yamamoto, F., Voida, A., Hovey, C. L., Barker, L. (2022). Why should computer and information science programs require service learning? Proceedings of the 53rd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. ACM, New York, NY, USA. doi> 10.1145/3478431.3499390
Catalyze Tech Working Group (Key Partner). 2021, October. “The ACT Report: Action to catalyze tech, a paradigm shift for DEI.” Published by the Aspen Institute and Snap Inc. October 2021. ACTReport.com.
Hovey, C. L. & Barker, L. (2020). Faculty adoption of CS education innovations: Exploring continued use. Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 570–576). ACM, New York, NY, USA. doi> 10.1145/3328778.3366874
Hovey, C. L., Barker, L., & Nagy, V. (2019). Survey results on why CS faculty adopt new teaching practices. Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 599-605). ACM, New York, NY, USA. doi> 10.1145/3287324.3287420
Hovey, C. L., Barker, L., & Luebs, M. (2019). Frequency of instructor- and student-centered teaching practices in introductory CS courses. Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 483-489). ACM, New York, NY, USA. doi> 10.1145/3287324.3287363
Achenbach, G., Barker, L. J., & Thompson, L. (2018). A systemic approach to recruiting and retaining women in undergraduate computing. In Proceedings of the 2018 CoNECD – The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity Conference. https://peer.asee.org/29502
Barker, L., Hovey, C. L. & Gruning, J. (2015). What influences CS faculty to adopt teaching practices? Proceedings of the 46th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education. ACM, New York, NY (pp. 604-609). doi> 10.1145/2676723.2677282
Barker, L. & Gruning, J. (2014). The student prompt: Student feedback and change in teaching practices in postsecondary computer science. Proceedings of the 44th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference (pp. 2873-2880). IEEE, New York, NY. doi> 10.1109/FIE.2014.7044464 Winner of the 2014 FIE Best Paper Award
Barker, L. J., Hovey, C. L., & Thompson, L. D. (2014). Results of a large-scale, multi- institutional study of undergraduate retention in computing. Proceedings of the 44th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference (pp. 1693-1700). IEEE, New York, NY. doi> 10.1109/FIE.2014.7044267
Barker, L., Cohoon, J. McGrath, & Thompson, L.D. (2010). A practical model for achieving gender parity in undergraduate computing: Change the system, not the student. Proceedings of the 40th Frontiers in Education Conference (pp. S1H-1-2). IEEE, New York, NY. doi> 10.1109/FIE.2010.5673635.
Barker, L. J. (2009) Student and faculty perceptions of undergraduate research experiences in computing. ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 9(1), 1-28. doi> 10.1145/1513593.1513598
Barker, L. J. & Aspray, W. (2006). The state of research on girls and Information Technology. In J. McGrath Cohoon & W. Aspray (Eds.), Women and information technology: Research on underrepresentation (pp. 3-54). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. doi> 10.7551/mitpress/7272.003.0003
Barker, L. J., Snow, E., Garvin-Doxas, K., & Weston, T. (2006). Recruiting middle school girls into Information Technology: Data on girls’ perceptions and experiences from a mixed demographic group. In J. McGrath Cohoon & W. Aspray (Eds.), Women and information technology: Research on underrepresentation (pp. 115-136). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. doi> 10.7551/mitpress/7272.003.0006
Barker, L. J. & Jessup, E. R. (2006). Student and faculty choices that widen the experience gap. In E. M. Trauth (Ed.). Encyclopedia of gender and information technology (pp. 1128-1133). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi> 10.4018/978-1-59140-815-4.ch178
Barker, L. J. & Garvin-Doxas, K. (2004). Making visible the behaviors that influence learning environment: A qualitative exploration of computer science classrooms. Computer Science Education, 14(2), 119-145.
doi> 10.1080/08993400412331363853
Lecia Barker 