/// Research

Research & Publications

Scientific insights from our research work, covering interdisciplinary CS education, inclusion, and impact evaluation.

The core finding

It's a confidence gap, not an interest gap

Across our research at KIT, the barrier was rarely whether children were interested in computer science. It was whether they believed they could do it. When we changed how it's taught, making it interdisciplinary, hands-on, and problem-based, confidence rose, especially among girls.

/// The evidence

400+ children

In the original KIT study

Multiple schools

Courses run with hundreds of students

20+ Publications

Peer-reviewed articles

Built at KIT

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

/// Interdisciplinary learning

Real problems that weave together code, maths, and science, and pull more children in.

May 2025

Why Interdisciplinary Learning Makes Coding Click

Connecting computer science with the real world doesn't just make it more engaging — it makes it inclusive, creative, and fun.

September 2024

Crossing Borders: The Beauty of Computer Science Beyond Disciplinary Borders

Why computer science comes alive when it crosses into other disciplines, and how that opens it to more learners.

June 2025

Interdisciplinary Harmonies: A Story-Driven Course on AI and Music to Increase Interest in Computer Science

A story-driven course where students teach an AI to make music, using a creative, interdisciplinary challenge to spark interest in computer science.

September 2023

How Saving Bees is Helping Kids Fall in Love with Coding

What do bees and computer science have in common? More than you think — and it might just be the secret to getting more kids excited about tech.

August 2023

What Makes Kids Love (or Dread) Computer Science?

Teachers spill the beans — research on what drives student engagement and disengagement in CS education.

/// Closing the confidence gap

Who feels they belong in computer science, and how to widen that circle.

August 2023

Empowering Girls in Computer Science: Unleashing their Potential

Do single-gender interdisciplinary classes help engage girls in computer science? Research from KIT explores the approach.

July 2023

The Confidence Gap, Not the Interest Gap

Girls don't opt out of computer science because they're uninterested. They opt out because they feel like novices — and we don't help them.

August 2023

Breaking Barriers: Empowering Women in Software Engineering

Research examining what causes talented women to leave computing pathways — and what we can do to change it.

December 2025

Measuring Computer Science Enthusiasm: Age and Gender Effects on Students' Interest

Across 400+ adolescents, interest in computer science dips in the early teens, especially for girls, yet older, less-interested students can gain the most from a good course.

/// Progress, not points

What really motivates learners, and why progress and feedback beat streaks and rewards.

December 2025

Gamification with Purpose: What Learners Prefer to Motivate Their Learning

Asked about ten game-like elements, learners preferred the ones that support real learning, progress, feedback, achievements, over purely playful rewards.

February 2026

Gamification Preferences in Digital Education: The Role of Individual Differences

A survey of 530 students shows that the game-like features which motivate learning depend on a child's age, personality, and task, not one size for all.

November 2024

From Zero to Hero: The Case of Progress Bars in Educational Online Courses

How a small design choice, a progress bar, can shape how learners experience and stick with an online course.

/// Further research

December 2025

A Curriculum-Constrained AI Tutor for Software Engineering Education

An experience report on an AI tutor that guides students within a set curriculum to support, not replace, teachers, easing stress during independent work.

October 2023

Exploring Effects of Online and Face-to-Face Teaching Formats on Students' Interest and Engagement

Comparing online and in-person course formats, and what each one does for students' interest and engagement.

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