We developed a near-peer mentoring model for high school youth to mentor middle school youth on how to program using MIT App Inventor. The purpose of this study was to investigate: (a) the effectiveness of the near-peer mentoring model for the mentees; and (b) how the mentees' vicarious experience with the near-peer mentors led to changes in their…

Stereotypes people hold about computer scientists contribute to underrepresentation in computer science. Perceptions of computer scientists have historically been linked to males and a "nerd" culture, which can lead to lack of interest, particularly for girls. This article presents two studies conducted with two groups of middle…