Students’ Perception of the Effect of Cognitive Factors in Determining Success in Computer Programming: A Case Study

Abstract

The reliance on science and technology by both countries and corporate entities is increasingly evident as the evolving trend of digitization not only pervades every facet of life but also assumes a dominant role. Correspondingly, the significance of producing competent computer science and information technology (IT) graduates becomes highly imperative. Already, in most developed and developing countries, there has been an increasing demand for these competencies such as network engineers, programmers, and other IT-related specialists. Although these competencies are equally valuable, programming skills constitute the core of the strength of every other IT-related competence. Nevertheless, programming is reported in the literature to be one of the most difficult courses to students. Moreover, the level of performance in programming is said to be significantly low with an attendant high rate of students' dropout. There is a concerted research effort toward addressing the challenge of poor academic performance by attempting to answer the question of what factors affect academic performance in general. However, there is scanty literature on the factors that affect the ability to understand the concept of programming in specific. This paper, therefore, reports a case study investigation of students' perception of the effect of cognitive factors as the determinant of success in computer programming. The findings showed that performance in introductory programming is impacted by a range of interrelated cognitive factors including self-efficacy and the love for technology.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Innovative Pedagogy and Lecture Method on Students Academic Achievement and Retention in Computer Programming

“…For instance, available records have shown that between the 2014 and 2018 academic sessions 370 candidates that sat for CP exams had the following grade represented: 20% scored above 60 marks while 80% scored less than 50 marks. is poor academic achievement in programming is attributed to several factors such as teaching methods employed [19,20], learning style employed by the students [21,22], and large class size [1]. In Nigeria, most lecturers are still using traditional talk and chalk which does not effectively facilitate learning [23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Improving motivation in pre-school education through the use of project-based learning and cooperative learning

“…The importance of this objective lies in improving understanding of how fostering motivation in the early years of education could promote students' interest in learning tasks and thus have positive repercussions in subsequent stages of education perhaps even reducing levels of ESL (European Commission, 2015;Jamilah et al, 2021). Furthermore, reinforcing intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation implies that students will persevere more in their learning tasks even when their outcomes are not always ideal (Msane et al, 2020). In order to achieve our general objective, we have defined the following specific objectives: (a) to design an instrument specifically to evaluate students' learning motivation in the second cycle of pre-school education; (b) to assess whether there are differences in motivation among students with respect to sex; (c) to assess whether there are differences in motivation among students with respect to age; (d) to assess whether there are differences in motivation among students with respect to the class in which they are taught (class ID); and (e) to assess whether there are differences in motivation among students with respect to the type of school they attend (rural or urban).…”

Classroom Climate in Early Childhood Education: A Conceptual Framework for Effective Classroom Management

“…This study will offer insights into how promoting motivation in the early stages of education could stimulate students' interest in learning difficulties, thereby positively affecting later phases of education and potentially lowering early school dropout rates (Viñuela & de Caso Fuertes, 2023). Strengthening intrinsic motivation rather than relying solely upon extrinsic motivators enhances children's likelihood of persisting with learning tasks, even in cases where the outcomes are not entirely desirable (Msane et al, 2020).…”