Student Perceptions of Success in Computer Science Senior Capstone Projects (Abstract Only)

Abstract

We are studying how students navigate the school to work transition in the context of the CS senior capstone project course. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with eleven of the seventy-two seniors completing their capstone project in the CS department at our institution. The interview instrument explores how students prioritized candidate projects during project selection, student perceptions of external evaluation, and self-evaluation of the success of their project experience. We used the concept of legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) as a theoretical lens to inform the coding and interpretation of the qualitative data. LPP is a situated learning theory that highlights the importance of embedding learners within a community of practice. This embedding supports participants' development of their professional identities, and engages them in the use of tools and practices authentic to the community. Through analysis of the interview transcripts, we identified the following themes: 1) shift in authority from classroom to project sponsor, 2) the capstone experience serving as a knowledge integration forum, and 3) sufficient project scope to support a sense of ownership and transformative agency. These findings are consistent with a shift in identity from school-oriented to work-oriented, and highlight how the course lends legitimacy to the project work performed by the students. This poster represents preliminary research efforts into the questions of student identity formation within CS, and its impact on long term retention in the computer science discipline.