TRACING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN JAVA PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

The visualisation approach is one of the programming learning styles that has been taken into account in programming education. A collection of visualisation tools has emerged with the aim of assisting novice programmers in learning how to program. Each tool has its own set of features that may or may not be helpful in gaining a better understanding. The methods that we used in this study are focused on using memory referencing and visualisation to clarify what happens during individual program statement executions. Understanding the efficacy of current instructional resources is a critical component of gathering students' requirements and needs for future improvement. The “Tracing Learning Environment” (TLE) is developed for novice programmers to help them trace the sequence of execution of a software program and the reserved place of data in the memory. The framework relies on using visualisation as the programs are run and to show the effect of each statement in the code. It provides an environment for learners to see what happens to the data while running the program. The specification of the TLE draws largely on research regarding the role of visualisation in teaching computer programming and associated literature on tools to support learning programming. The TLE framework has been evaluated by conducting an empirical study using a mixed-method approach with novice and expert participants. The study has included surveys, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews. Student performance was measured before and after using the visualisation tool and compared with a control group who participated in a standard teaching session only. Early findings highlighted the need to visualise the control of the execution of code, evaluation of expressions, represent the class hierarchy along with the importance of a good interface/usability of the tool and to consider the programming languages supported. The evaluation findings are in line with the literature surrounding the benefits of using visualisation in learning to program. The findings found visualisation increased the students’ performance and confidence. When compared to the regular lab activities, the visualisation contributed to better understanding and support for learning to program.Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabi

Enhancing comprehension in open distance learning computer programming education with visualization

This thesis describes a research project aimed at improving the tracing skills of first-year programming students enrolled for an introductory C++ course at an open distance learning institution by means of a tutorial in the form of a program visualization tool to teach the students to draw variable diagrams. The research was based on the findings from the BRACElet project (Clear, Whalley, Robbins, Philpott, Eckerdal, Laakso & Lister, 2011). A design-based research methodology was followed. To guide the process of developing the tutorial, a framework of 26 guidelines for developing and using visualization tools to teach programming was synthesized from the literature on computing education research CER, educational psychology and computer graphics. Guidelines were supplemented with reasons or explanations for their recommendation and considerations to be taken into account when using a guideline. The framework was enhanced by lessons learnt during the development and testing of the tutorial. The tutorial was tested and refined during two implementation cycles. Both cycles included quantitative and qualitative investigations. All students registered for the introductory module received the tool with their study material. For the quantitative investigations, students completed a questionnaire after using the tutorial. Through the questionnaire biographical data was acquired, the manner in which students used the tutorial and how they experienced using it. The responses to the questionnaires were statistically analysed in combination with respondents’ final marks. The statistical modelling indicated that the students’ biographical properties (a combination of level of programming experience, marks obtained for Mathematics and English in matric and first-time registration for COS1511 or not), had the biggest impact on their final marks by far. During the qualitative investigations students were eye tracked in a Human-Computer Interaction laboratory. The gaze replays in both cycles revealed that students’ reading skills impacted largely on their success, connecting with the findings from the quantitative investigations. Reflections on why the tutorial did not achieve its purpose; and why poor reading skills may have such a strong effect on learning to program, contribute some theoretical understanding as to how novices learn to program.Computer ScienceD. Phil. (Computer Science