Understanding Fears and Confidence amongst Non-majors in Introductory CS Courses

Understanding how non-majors experience introductory CS courses and the impact of course design on confidence.

The Challenge: Why Do Non-Majors Fear CS?

Computer Science is increasingly becoming a required or recommended course for non-majors across universities. However, many students entering these courses carry significant fears and anxieties about their ability to succeed. Understanding these fears and how different course designs impact student confidence is crucial for improving the learning experience.

This study investigates the fears of non-major students in introductory CS courses and compares how their confidence levels change in two different course types: CS0 (designed specifically for non-majors) and CS1 (traditional introductory CS course).

Research Questions

We aimed to answer three key questions:

RQ1

What are the fears of non-majors taking an introductory CS course?

RQ2

How do confidence levels differ between CS0 and CS1 students?

RQ3

Is there a connection between initial fears and confidence change?

Methodology

Study Design

  • Participants: 626 non-major students (124 in CS0, 502 in CS1)
  • Data Collection: Pre- and post-course surveys via Google Forms
  • Instructor: Same instructor taught both courses for consistency

Analysis Approach

Qualitative Analysis

For identifying fears:

  • Open coding of student responses
  • Two independent coders with consensus resolution
  • Inter-rater reliability: 0.889 (near perfect agreement)
  • Identified 9 distinct fear categories
Quantitative Analysis

For confidence comparison:

  • Mann-Whitney U tests on confidence levels
  • Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons
  • Analysis of confidence change by fear category

Key Findings

🎯 Finding 1: Nine Categories of Fear

Students expressed fears that fell into nine distinct categories:

📈 Finding 2: CS0 Students Show Greater Confidence Gains

Key Result: CS0 students experienced a statistically significant increase in confidence compared to CS1 students.

CS0 (Non-Major Focused)

Designed specifically for non-majors using Snap! (visual programming)

Result: Larger confidence gains

CS1 (Traditional)

Traditional intro course using Python, designed for CS majors

Result: Smaller confidence gains

Important: Both groups started with similar initial confidence levels, so the difference is due to course design, not student selection.

🔗 Finding 3: Specific Fears Predict Confidence Growth

Students with certain fears showed the highest confidence increases:

Interpretation: Students with these fears likely had low initial self-efficacy beliefs, and the course experience directly addressed these concerns, leading to substantial confidence growth.

Implications for CS Education

For Course Designers
  • Course design matters significantly for non-majors
  • CS0-style courses (creative, visual) boost confidence more
  • Addressing self-efficacy beliefs is crucial
  • Consider non-major-specific pedagogy
For Instructors
  • Acknowledge and validate student fears
  • Create a supportive, non-judgmental environment
  • Emphasize that fears are common and addressable
  • Celebrate early wins to build confidence

Bottom Line

Course design significantly impacts non-major student confidence in CS. A course specifically designed for non-majors—emphasizing creativity, exploration, and broader CS concepts—leads to greater confidence gains than a traditional CS1 course. Moreover, students who enter with the most fears (about coding, preparation, or being left behind) often experience the greatest confidence growth, suggesting that well-designed courses can directly address these concerns.

This research highlights the importance of intentional course design for non-majors and demonstrates that with the right pedagogical approach, we can transform student fears into confidence and engagement with computer science.

Publication

This work was published in the Proceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE 2023):

Li, R., Hogan, E., & Soosai Raj, A. G. (2023). CS0 vs. CS1: Understanding Fears and Confidence amongst Non-majors in Introductory CS Courses.

Read the Paper
ACM Digital Library