The Effect of Determining Pair Programming Groups According to Various Individual Difference Variables on Group Compatibility, Flow, and Coding Performance

Abstract

This study's goal was to investigate the effect of homogeneous and heterogeneous pairs in terms of individual differences on group compatibility, flow, and coding performance in pair programming. In line with this goal, five individual difference variables of gender, learning style, friendship, the conscientiousness component of personality traits, and prior knowledge of coding were determined in order to use them in the determination of pairs in pair programming. In the quantitative section of this mixed study, a non-equivalent control group posttest only experimental design was utilized. Sixty-four volunteer university students were included in the study. As a result of the study, it was determined that the homogeneous group experienced a higher level of flow in the case of learning style. On the other hand, in the case of friendship, the homogeneous group experienced a higher level of flow, while the heterogeneous group demonstrated a higher level of coding performance. Concerning the conscientiousness component of personality traits, the heterogeneous group showed a higher level of coding performance. In line with these findings, suggestions for both researchers and practitioners of coding education were made in the full text.

A Study of First-Year Students’ Attitudes toward Programming in the Innovation in Educational Technology Course

“…Programming has become a collaborative task because today's programs are too difficult and long for a single programmer to complete. erefore, students should be familiar with collaboration before making careers in the future [66]. Pair programming plays an important role in higher education.…”

Three Contrasting Pairs’ Collaborative Programming Processes in China’s Secondary Education

“…While some empirical studies indicate that pair programming results in positive programming learning processes and performances (e.g., Hannay et al, 2009;Kalaian & Kasim, 2014;Salleh et al, 2011), other studies show that pair programming may undermine students' problem-solving due to a lack of skills in organization, communication, and collaboration (e.g., Werner & Denning, 2009;Papadakis, 2018;Veerasamy et al, 2019). Primary factors that influence the effectiveness and quality of pair programming are individual's programming ability (Salleh et al, 2011), social atmospheres (Werner et al, 2005), and the group configurations (Demir & Seferoglu, 2020b). Given the complex factors that may influence the pair programming, it is necessary to further conduct a fine-grained, multi-dimensional analysis of pair programming in order to provide research, analysis and practice implications.…”

Gender and pair programming–Effects of the gender composition of pairs on collaboration in a robotics workshop

“…In contrast, a study by Demir and Seferoglu (2021) did not demonstrate significant differences between homogeneous and heterogeneous groups in terms of compatibility or the experience of flow. Results regarding productivity are also inconclusive.…”

“…In interviews, most learners indicate that they interact better, are more productive, and feel more comfortable collaborating with a familiar person (Celepkolu et al, 2020). However, some learners prefer to work with non-familiar students because they collaborate more professionally (Demir and Seferoglu, 2021). If learners in a pair are not friends, a lack of interaction occurs more frequently (Campe et al, 2020).…”