Are international students brilliant innovators that should catch a ride on the STEM and CS train in U.S. colleges?
I am Computer Science teacher in an American school in Latin America whose mission is to prepare students for college, mainly colleges and universities in the United States. I had the opportunity to attend a college fair that took place at my school at the beginning of this school year, and was very surprised by the general consensus from the colleges, that most Latin American students prefer majors in the Humanities, Business and Social Sciences areas rather than the STEM or CS areas. Most of the colleges that visited us were small private U.S. colleges that are not strong in the Computer Science or Engineering areas, but still, the comments I received were very eye opening. Apparently our students are either not interested in these areas or think these majors are too hard to achieve when English is not your native language. I also found out from the same source that most of the colleges that have good Engineering and/or Computer Science departments are not interested in recruiting or at least not going out of their way to recruit foreign students as they have an abundance of applications from local students. Therefore the need for active recruiting no longer exists.
Unfortunately whatever the reason, it seems that our Latin American students are not informed or do not have many opportunities to dive into these areas of study since there is no need from these big name universities and colleges for foreign students to opt for these majors. This makes me wonder if the picture is similar around the world or if it is unique to Latin America. With these questions in my mind, I decided to do some research and this is what I found.
According to the Institute of International Education on a Press release published on November 2011, International enrollment from foreign students in U.S. colleges has increased by 5 percent in all areas, now the top three places of origin for these enrollments are: China, India and South Korea. There are only four Latin America countries mentioned which are: Mexico as #9, Brazil #14, Colombia #21 and Venezuela in position #23. Most of the countries in between are either European or Asian. In the top 10 areas of choice for enrollment Mathematics, CS is in 3rd place with 9% compared to a 22% in Business and Management. These numbers are very important as they show the preferences of International students currently studying in the U.S.
According to the white paper prepared for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, updated in July 2012, the need for Hispanics to earn a degree in STEM is growing. These are some numbers that have been published by them: “The number of students (both Hispanic and non-Hispanic) enrolling in STEM fields is on the rise. Enrollment in STEM fields from 1995-1996 to 2003-2004 increased 21 percent, compared to an increase of 11 percent in non-STEM areas. During that same time, the percent of Hispanic students enrolling in STEM fields increased by 33 percent, representing nearly ten percent of students in STEM fields” (United States Government Accountability Office, 2005). At the same time, however, disproportionately low numbers of Hispanics currently persist in STEM (Oakes, 1990; Young, 2005). Although Hispanic students have been shown to be equally likely as white students to major in STEM, they are significantly less likely to earn a degree or certificate in a STEM field (Chen & Weko, 2009). According to recent data from the Higher Education Research Institute (2010), 16 percent of Hispanic students who began college in 2004 as STEM majors completed a STEM degree by 2009, compared to 25 percent of white students.
One of the most interesting parts of this paper is the reflection towards the reasons influencing Hispanic students in deciding whether they want to pursue and earn a degree in STEM. This is their reflection:
Academic Experiences
Mathematical and science training at the elementary and secondary levels has been shown to influence the academic preparation of students as well as their interests in high school mathematics and science coursework and in pursuing a STEM career (Eamon, 2005; United States Government Accountability Office, 2005). Further, there is evidence that the number of mathematics, science, and English courses taken by high school students serves as a major predictor of choosing a STEM college major (Astin & Astin, 1992; Simpson, 2001).
Cognitive Factors
Students’ self-efficacy has been shown to be the strongest predictor of the consideration of mathematics as a career choice (Post-Krammer & Smith, 1986). Leslie, McClure and Oaxaca (1998) found that the probability of choosing engineering or science increases with students’ perceptions that they possess a solid science/math background and in the belief that he or she has the ability to perform well in those courses.
Socio-Cultural Factors
Peer influence has also been shown to inspire students’ decisions to major in a STEM field. Astin and Astin (1992) found that the most consistent environmental influence on a student’s choice of major is the number of friends and peers that students possess or knew that were seeking a degree in that field of study.
Factors Specific to Latinas
Gender serves as one of the most powerful and robust predictors of choice of college major for minority students, as female minority students are much more likely to pursue liberal arts, health, public service or business degrees than STEM degree programs (Simpson, 2001).
Now these are not new factors, these are factors that are in the minds of students every day. In conclusion, if we can encourage K-12 institutions to reinforce their CS and STEM related courses then students will be more willing to pursue a degree in these areas. If our Latin American schools have strong CS and math courses that can compete with the ones offered by U.S. schools then our students will feel that they have broader career choices. It is also very important that U.S. colleges strengthen their success and achievement statistics by allowing more International students, specifically Hispanics that show a great interest and possess a high degree of talent for CS or STEM to be recruited by their institutions. The best comparison I can make is to U.S. sports teams that make their institutions more successful by adding international players to their rosters. The variety of experience and knowledge leads to an increased success rate.
Michelle Lagos
International Representative
Sources:
http://cra.org/uploads/documents/resources/taulbee/CS_Degree_and_Enrollment_Trends_2010-11.pdf
http://www.iie.org/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2011/2011-11-14-Open-Doors-International-Students
http://www.hacu.net/images/hacu/OPAI/H3ERC/2012_papers/Crisp%20nora%20-%20hispanics%20in%20stem%20-%20updated%202012.pdf

This is an exciting time for CS education. There seems to be a growing national consensus that achievement in the sciences is critical both for the next generation of students and the future well-being of our country. Hopefully, CS has a place at that table. Thanks to a variety of efforts from corporations like Microsoft and Google and professional associations like the ACM and CSTA, computer science education seems to be gathering steam and legitimacy in the public sphere. Our collective efforts for advocacy, curriculum development, research about learning, and good teaching are having an impact.
But excitement is tightly coupled with an element of anxiety. What is there to be anxious about? A grassroots effort with a growing head of steam on its way to the mainstream can only sustain momentum for so long. At some point, at some unpredictable and probably imperceptible moment in the future, the steam will taper off, the effort will slow and we’ll be left with whatever we created along the way. I think we’re approaching that moment. It might be a few years away, maybe more, but we’re way closer to that moment now than we were five years ago. There is so much swirling around CS education now, the proverbial iron is hot, and we need to make sure we strike.
I don’t intend to be ominous. I’m neither futurist nor soothsayer. But CS has picked up steam before, in the 80s, before my time as a teacher. Computers and computer programming were the wave of the future! (See: Pappert) What happened? By the early 90s, computing was on its way out of the schools. We lost ground. The steam wore off. Computer science receded to the fringe. We can argue about why that happened, but I’d rather make sure that this time, while we’ve got a head of steam, we leave behind some structural or institutional permanence, so that the when the steam tapers off, as it inevitably will, there will at least be some more significant residue of good, rigorous, computing education in all schools.
One way to ensure some permanence, in my opinion, is to empower teachers, not just vogue curricula. Current CS teachers must be involved in helping us move toward the future. And right now, sadly, though perhaps predictably, the voices of people with the most vital information about the state of computing education, we the teachers, are out of the loop. I would like to change that.
And I would like you to help me.
I’m working with the Center for Elementary Math and Science Education (CEMSE) here at the University of Chicago to ensure that teachers’ needs and voices will contribute to the information used to by the decision- and policy-makers who are doing much of this new K-12 CS curriculum development. Our project at CEMSE is to collect data on the landscape of computer science teacher professional development in high schools. A large part of that is to develop a robust understanding what teachers are experiencing in schools.
We have created a very brief (10 min or less) but very important survey that I’d like you to fill out that will help describe what’s really going on in schools. This information will be widely disseminated, it will be used, and it will matter. So please join me in collecting this information so that teachers’ voices will be heard and we can contribute to making a lasting impact on the present CS Education movement while it’s gathering steam.
Oh, did I mention that we’re giving out $50 gift cards? For every 100 people that complete the survey, we’ll pick two at random from amongst all respondents to get a $50 card. So the earlier you complete the survey, and the more teacher friends you get do it, the more chances you have to win!
So, help us support you the right way. Thanks for your time. Yours in solidarity,
Baker Franke
Computer Science Teacher
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
Center for Elementary Math and Science Education

It’s no doubt that most of us have become dependent (if not addicted) to technology. We rely on our cell phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter, and Internet searches each day. In fact, sometimes our work requires such communications. What is it like to go without?
If you live in NJ, you probably experienced this first hand. Sandy visited us on October 29th — an unwelcomed visit by most in this state and surrounding areas. We were left without power for a week or more (some are still without power). And we found out just how well we deal without technology. Some were lucky enough to power up with generators but Internet was mostly out of the question. No power–no cable–no Internet. Even if you had power via a generator, that power didn’t do anything for connecting you with the outside world. Our cell phones most of the time worked (if you could find a power source to charge them) so texting was a means of communication. Using your phone for Internet access was slow, at best. It seemed like everyone was trying to connect through Verizon! Some in my area have no cell reception and rely on VoIP for their phones. They were truly unable to communicate. So what do you do? You spend time with your family and your neighbors. It was candlelight parties with grilled food and great conversations!
Think about the times when you go out to a restaurant and people who are there to spend time with their companions pull out the cell phone and start texting. Think about your commutes using public transportation. I’ll bet you pull out the cell phone or the Kindle or your laptop. Think about the times you browse to find the best deals for items you need (or want). Think about Cyber-Monday.
In our culture we rely on communication through some form of technology. But, do you really realize just how much you rely on and use technology? Try one of these two exercises with your class:
Spend an Entire Day Without Technology
As a class, define what “technology” actually means for this exercise. After the day is complete, have the following class discussions (or have the students record answers in a journal):

Explore Your Digital Footprint
In Blown To Bits, Chapter 2, Abelson, Ledeen, and Lewis discuss the data trails we leave every day. They define electronic footprints as data trails we leave intentionally; and electronic fingerprints as data trails of which we are unaware or unconscious of leaving.

During the holidays, spend some technology free time with your family and friends.
Fran Trees
CSTA Chapter Liaison