Abstract. We describe a programming tutor framework that consists of two configurable components, a guided-planning component and an assisted-coding component that offers task relevant automatically-generated hints on demand to students. We evaluate the effectiveness of the new integrated planning and coding environment by comparing it to three other tutor conditions: planning-only, coding-only, and planning-only interleaved with planning-coding. We conclude that the integrated planning and coding tutor environment is more effective than tutored planning-only activities and that students make more efficient use of tutor feedback in the integrated environment than in the coding only environment.
This paper explores the use of the two contextualized learning tools, animations and educational robots, in an introductory computer science course. We describe our experience when supplementing Greenfoot animation exercises with robotic exercises using the Scribbler and Finch robot, and compare the impact of the different learning tools on students' engagement and performance. We also outline practical considerations concerning the use of Greenfoot animations, Scribbler robots, and Finch robots.
Contextualized learning is considered beneficial for student success. In this article, we assess the impact of context-based learning tools on student grade performance in an introductory computer science course. In particular, we investigate two central questions: (1) does the use context-based learning tools, robots and animations, affect student performance? (2) How do age, gender, and ethnicity impact performance? To explore these questions, we compare the impact of educational robots in conjunction with animations against a second group of students who use only animations, while controlling for the effects of gender and ethnicity. We find that the addition of robots did not improve the students' performance in our setting. Instead, our findings support the existing literature stating that gender and ethnicity are important predictors of student success. We also find that attendance is a strong predictor of student success.
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