Have students pair program to increase their interactions with one another, promote retention of female students, and maximize resources.

Why:
- Pair programming is common practice in industry, so it helps to get used to it in class even if students are just spotting their partner's typo at first.
- Creating an environment where discourse and pairing are comfortable is very important, especially since teacher time is limited and you'll want all of your students to have their best chance at succeeding.
- If there is not an individual computer available for each student, pair programming can maximize resources.
- Also, research shoes that increased interaction with peers maintains interest in computer science among female students.
How:
- Have students pair program with a partner at a single computer so that they must collaborate to complete the assignment.
  - Make students switch partners each week so they get to work with many of their peers.
Check out these resources on setting up pair programming your classroom.
Note from the CS Teaching Tips Team: Check out our tip by Colleen Lewis on strategies to successfully set up pair programming in the classroom!

Have students pair program to increase their interactions with one another, which can promote retention of female students.

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