A multi-national, multi-institutional study of assessment of programming skills of first-year CS students

McCracken, M. E.; Almstrum, Vicki L.; Diaz, Danny; Guzdial, Mark; Hagan, Dianne; Kolikant, Yifat Ben‐David; Laxer, Cary; Thomas, Lynda; Utting, Ian; Wilusz, Tadeusz

doi:10.1145/572133.572137

Cited by 310 publications

(180 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…Knowledge and skills required for programming: novice students are found less successful at the programming task than their teachers' expectation (McCracken et al, 2001). Studies under the BRACElet project (Clear et al, 2011) investigated the underpinning skills and knowledge required for code writing.…”

Section: Novice Programmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A blended learning approach for teaching computer programming: design for large classes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bati

Gelderblom

Biljon

2014

Computer Science Education

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The challenge of teaching programming in higher education is complicated by problems associated with large class teaching, a prevalent situation in many developing countries. This paper reports on an investigation into the use of a blended learning approach to teaching and learning of programming in a class of more than 200 students. A course and learning environment was designed by integrating constructivist learning models of Constructive Alignment, Conversational Framework and the ThreeStage Learning Model. Design science research is used for the course redesign and development of the learning environment, and action research is integrated to undertake participatory evaluation of the intervention. The action research involved the Students' Approach to Learning survey, a comparative analysis of students' performance, and qualitative data analysis of data gathered from various sources. The paper makes a theoretical contribution in presenting a design of a blended learning solution for large class teaching of programming grounded in constructivist learning theory and use of free and open source technologies.

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Section: Novice Programmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A blended learning approach for teaching computer programming: design for large classes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Bati

Gelderblom

Biljon

2014

Computer Science Education

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“…An expected outcome of a computer science student's education is programming skill (McCracken et al, 2001) which is also a core competency for employment in several IT industries (Orsini, 2013). However learning to program is difficult for many.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective compiler error message enhancement for novice programming students

Becker

Glanville

Iwashima

et al. 2016

Computer Science Education

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Programming is an essential skill that all computing students must master. However programming can be difficult to learn. Compiler error messages are crucial for correcting errors, but are often difficult to understand and pose a barrier to progress for many novices. High frequencies of errors, particularly repeated errors, have been shown to be indicators of students who are struggling with learning to program. This study involves a custom IDE that enhances Java compiler error messages, intended to be more useful to novices than those supplied by the compiler. The effectiveness of this approach was tested in an empirical control/intervention study of approximately 200 students generating almost 50,000 errors. The design allows for direct comparisons between enhanced and non-enhanced error messages. Results show that the intervention group experienced reductions in the number of overall errors, errors per student, and several repeated error metrics. This work is important for two reasons. First, the effects of error message enhancement have been recently debated in the literature. This study provides substantial evidence that it can be effective. Second, these results should be generalizable at least in part, to other programming languages, students and institutions, as we show that the control group of this study is comparable to several others using Java and other languages.

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“…This is certainly the case in computer science, an area that attracts candidates with many different backgrounds. A particularly challenging topic within the discipline is the induction of students to programming [1], [2]: students taking a first year undergraduate course in that subject range from those who have never seen a line of code, to those who have completed software projects at school.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A blended learning model for practical sessions

Barreiro

Matos

2016

Annals of Computer Science and Information Systems

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Abstract-We describe an education model that was developed and put in place to improve student engagement and attainment in a first year undergraduate programming course.The work is founded in a checkpoint-based formative assessment experiment undertaken for two years, the success of which is analysed in this document. The results provide evidence leading to a move towards a blended model of education, which requires the design of a software application to support the system. We present the main features of that application, covering aspects that range from traditional approaches and established delivery methods, to e-learning and MOOCs with, for instance, gamification.This blended model of education fosters the development of a teaching practice that adapts to student diversity through informed teaching.

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A multi-national, multi-institutional study of assessment of programming skills of first-year CS students

Cited by 310 publications

References 6 publications

A blended learning approach for teaching computer programming: design for large classes in Sub-Saharan Africa

A blended learning approach for teaching computer programming: design for large classes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Effective compiler error message enhancement for novice programming students

A blended learning model for practical sessions

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