Gender and Engagement in CS Courses on Piazza

Abstract

Online discussion forums are being increasingly used in classrooms as a way to encourage collaborative learning and community. Piazza is one such forum that was built specifically for academic institutions, and has been widely adopted. Students have the opportunity to ask questions and seek answers from peers and instructors alike online, allowing them to find the information they need even if they do not know fellow students in the class or if they cannot make an instructor's office hours. However, recent analysis of the popular online discussion site Stack Overflow, suggests that women are more likely than men to withdraw from such a community if they do not identify other members of the same gender. Women are often a minority in computer science courses and may express difficulty interacting with or seeking help from their peers who are predominantly men. Considering the importance of providing equal access to students regardless of gender and the value of resources like Piazza in one's education, it is imperative to assess the representation and impact of gender on Piazza. We analyzed data from over 2,500 Piazza users across three computer science courses at the University of Virginia and found that women on Piazza post more questions than men, spend more time on the discussion site, and achieve higher reputation scores on average. However, they are more likely than men to both ask and answer questions anonymously and less likely to receive responses from members of the same gender.