Phages are viruses that attack bacteria by injecting their DNA, then usurping bacterial machinery to reproduce. Eventually, they make so many copies of themselves that the bacteria burst.

University of Delaware Associate Professor Teomara Rutherford, along with UD co-authors Hye Rin Lee, Austin Cory Bart and Andrew Rodrigues and Megan Englert of the University of Colorado Boulder, investigated changes in student motivation in first-year university CS courses. Although students’ perception of the value of CS declined over the semester, their sense of belonging and beliefs in their ability to succeed increased. Rutherford and her co-authors also found that students’ beliefs in their ability to succeed, their view of the course’s importance and their perception of its emotional cost predicted final course grades. These findings are already helping UD faculty enhance their courses.