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Gender Influence on Student Teams' Online Communication in Software Engineering Education

Rita Garcia, Christoph Treude

TL;DR

This study investigates how gender shapes online team communication in Software Engineering education by analyzing Slack interactions and learning gains from eight weeks of Open-Source contributions. Employing a mixed-methods design, the authors link quantitative analyses (Mann-Whitney U tests, QCA, Wilcoxon tests, and Cohen’s ds) with qualitative methods (conversation analysis and NVivo coding) to reveal that women more frequently initiate leadership-related and coordination behaviours, while men show slower responses. Although overall communication frequency does not predict final course grades, team communication correlates with Quiz performance and women exhibit higher reflection scores, suggesting gendered patterns in learning processes. The findings highlight implications for instructional design and interventions to promote equitable collaboration in SE education and point to future work on diversity and inclusion training and broader intersectionality.

Abstract

Collaboration is crucial in Software Engineering (SE), yet factors like gender bias can shape team dynamics and behaviours. This study examines an eight-week project involving 39 SE students across eight teams contributing to GitHub projects. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analysed Slack communications to identify gender differences, comparing how they influence learning gains. We found higher help-seeking and leadership behaviours in the all-woman team, while men responded more slowly. Although communication did not affect final grades, we identified statistical significance correlating communications with students' understanding of software development. With some students putting more effort into collaboration, future work can investigate diversity and inclusion training to balance these efforts. The observed link between team engagement and a higher understanding of software development highlights the potential for teaching strategies that promote help-seeking. These findings could guide efforts to address challenges student SE teams face when using communication platforms and foster more equitable collaborative learning in Software Engineering Education.

Gender Influence on Student Teams' Online Communication in Software Engineering Education

TL;DR

This study investigates how gender shapes online team communication in Software Engineering education by analyzing Slack interactions and learning gains from eight weeks of Open-Source contributions. Employing a mixed-methods design, the authors link quantitative analyses (Mann-Whitney U tests, QCA, Wilcoxon tests, and Cohen’s ds) with qualitative methods (conversation analysis and NVivo coding) to reveal that women more frequently initiate leadership-related and coordination behaviours, while men show slower responses. Although overall communication frequency does not predict final course grades, team communication correlates with Quiz performance and women exhibit higher reflection scores, suggesting gendered patterns in learning processes. The findings highlight implications for instructional design and interventions to promote equitable collaboration in SE education and point to future work on diversity and inclusion training and broader intersectionality.

Abstract

Collaboration is crucial in Software Engineering (SE), yet factors like gender bias can shape team dynamics and behaviours. This study examines an eight-week project involving 39 SE students across eight teams contributing to GitHub projects. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analysed Slack communications to identify gender differences, comparing how they influence learning gains. We found higher help-seeking and leadership behaviours in the all-woman team, while men responded more slowly. Although communication did not affect final grades, we identified statistical significance correlating communications with students' understanding of software development. With some students putting more effort into collaboration, future work can investigate diversity and inclusion training to balance these efforts. The observed link between team engagement and a higher understanding of software development highlights the potential for teaching strategies that promote help-seeking. These findings could guide efforts to address challenges student SE teams face when using communication platforms and foster more equitable collaborative learning in Software Engineering Education.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 29 sections, 10 figures, 5 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Gender-Related Behaviours, Interactions, and Interpersonal Communication
  4. Retention of Women in Computing
  5. Communication Exchange During Collaborative Learning
  6. Methods
  7. Context
  8. Pre-Post Surveys
  9. Quantitative Data Analysis
  10. Pre-Post Survey Quantitative Analysis
  11. Quantitative Content Analysis
  12. Comparative Analysis
  13. Qualitative Data Analysis
  14. Pre-Post Survey Qualitative Analysis
  15. Conversation Analysis - Opening Sequences
  16. ...and 14 more sections

Figures (10)

  • Figure 1: Diagram of Study Method (Adapted from creswell:2006)
  • Figure 2: Example of a Pull Request Submission from Team-4. The Pull Request format is using checkboxes to denote completed and validated tasks. This format style is recommended by the JabRef project maintainers.
  • Figure 3: Example of a Sequence Organisation - Team Members are using a leave-talking statement that shows satisfaction with completing the conversation with "thanks"
  • Figure 4: Team Composition and Message Frequency
  • Figure 5: Slack Message Frequency by Gender
  • ...and 5 more figures