Learning Dimensions: Lessons from Field Studies

In this paper, we describe work to investigate the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. Background research informed the design of four fieldwork studies involving a range of age groups to explore how programming tasks could best be framed to motivate learners. Our empirical findings from these four studies, described here, contributed to the design of a set of programming "Learning Dimensions" (LDs). The LDs provide educators with insights to support key design decisions for the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. This paper describes the background to the identification of these LDs and how they could address the design and delivery of highly engaging programming learning tasks. A web application has been authored to support educators in the application of the LDs to their lesson design

Applying a User-centred Approach to Interactive Visualization Design

Analysing users in their context of work and finding out how and why they use different information resources is essential to provide interactive visualisation systems that match their goals and needs. Designers should actively involve the intended users throughout the whole process. This chapter presents a user-centered approach for the design of interactive visualisation systems. We describe three phases of the iterative visualisation design process: the early envisioning phase, the global specification hase, and the detailed specification phase. The whole design cycle is repeated until some criterion of success is reached. We discuss different techniques for the analysis of users, their tasks and domain. Subsequently, the design of prototypes and evaluation methods in visualisation practice are presented. Finally, we discuss the practical challenges in design and evaluation of collaborative visualisation environments. Our own case studies and those of others are used throughout the whole chapter to illustrate various approaches

Teaching Programmable Microcontrollers to Novice Users in a College of Agriculture: Effects on Attitude, Self-Efficacy, and Knowledge

This thesis consists of two articles that examined an instructional treatment based on the use of Arduino UNO R3 programmable microcontrollers in a fundamentals of agriculture systems technology course at the University of Arkansas. The first article examined students’ breadboarding and programming self-efficacy and knowledge of Arduino. The treatment consisted of a three-class-period instructional treatment, starting with a pretest before instruction to measure students’ baseline interest, knowledge, and self-efficacy of breadboarding and programming Arduino. This was followed with a short 30-minute instructional video explaining basic Arduino programming and breadboarding. Next a hands-on laboratory activity requiring students to breadboard and program an LED circuit was conducted. The activity was graded and rubrics were returned to the students before they took the posttest. Students’ mean scores for breadboarding and programming self-efficacy and Arduino knowledge were higher after the instructional treatment, while the observed mean for interest slightly declined. The second article examined the rubric scores from the hands-on laboratory activity and evaluated where students most commonly made errors breadboarding and programming. Rubric scores on Arduino breadboarding were 58.5% and programming 23.5%, leading us to conclude that students needed more instruction on Arduino programming and in breadboarding simple electronic circuits. The single most common error made when programming was the lack of writing simple comments at the end of each line of the program sketch to describe what the command is doing. The second most common error in programming was not writing the command to correctly identify a digital pin as an output. For breadboarding, the two most common errors were that students were unable to correctly “forward-bias” an LED and wire a single 240ohm resistor in series in the circuit. Both articles produced findings worth implementing into a future redesigned study where novice agriculture students are introduced to basic electronics circuitry followed by Arduino programming. Readers should design instruction that provides students with the opportunity for mastery experiences like breadboarding and programming success during instruction prior to an individual hands-on task. The instructional treatment should be extended in time to allow students more opportunity to process new knowledge. The hands-on activity should be simplified to include only one LED circuit, and the reference sheet should show more complete examples of programming. Students should be encouraged to work together on the hands-on activity rather than being left to work individually

Designing Engaging Learning Experiences in Programming

In this paper we describe work to investigate the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. Background research informed the design of four fieldwork studies to explore how programming tasks could be framed to motivate learners. Our empirical findings from these four field studies are summarized here, with a particular focus upon one – Whack a Mole – which compared the use of a physical interface with the use of a screen-based equivalent interface to obtain insights into what made for an engaging learning experience. Emotions reported by two sets of participant undergraduate students were analyzed, identifying the links between the emotions experienced during programming and their origin. Evidence was collected of the very positive emotions experienced by learners programming with a physical interface (Arduino) in comparison with a similar program developed using a screen-based equivalent interface. A follow-up study provided further evidence of the motivation of personalized design of programming tangible physical artefacts. Collating all the evidence led to the design of a set of ‘Learning Dimensions’ which may provide educators with insights to support key design decisions for the creation of engaging programming learning experiences

Evaluting a sketch environment for novice programmers

This paper describes the evaluation of an electronic sketch interface design tool for novice programmers. A comparative study was undertaken with small groups using two different shared space environments; a conventional informal design environment and the pen based digital whiteboard. The students reacted positively to the electronic environment, where they worked informally with their design ideas and checked them more carefully

Supporting Collaboration in Introductory Programming Classes Taught in Hybrid Mode: A Participatory Design Study

Hybrid learning modalities, where learners can attend a course in-person or remotely, have gained particular significance in post-pandemic educational settings. In introductory programming courses, novices' learning behaviour in the collaborative context of classrooms differs in hybrid mode from that of a traditional setting. Reflections from conducting an introductory programming course in hybrid mode led us to recognise the need for re-designing programming tools to support students' collaborative learning practices. We conducted a participatory design study with nine students, directly engaging them in design to understand their interaction needs in hybrid pedagogical setups to enable effective collaboration during learning. Our findings first highlighted the difficulties that learners face in hybrid modes. The results then revealed learners' preferences for design functionalities to enable collective notions, communication, autonomy, and regulation. Based on our findings, we discuss design principles and implications to inform the future design of collaborative programming environments for hybrid modes

Exploiting Smalltalk Modules In A Customizable Programming Environment

This paper describes how we have extended a module structure of the Smalltalk LearningWorks to provide a programming environment deigned for very large scale technology transfer. The ‘module’ is what we have termed the LearningBook, a set of classes and persistent objects, including an HTML browser, programming and visualization tools, and microworlds. The context for this development is a distance learning university course in object technology which has enrolled over 5,100 mature students in its first year – making it the largest such course in the world. While promoting a systems building approach, we have successfully added support for programming in the small and the needs of the isolated novice. Two principles have applied: (i) the programming environment and its modules fit into a consistent framework for personal management of study and (ii) details of complex facilities, such as the class library, are progressively disclosed as knowledge and sophistication grow. The paper shows how these principles have guided the exploitation of LearningBook modules. To provide context, relevant academic background is given. Early informal feedback is reported and a project currently underway to observe in detail how thousands of learners use the Smalltalk programming environment is sketched

Design and implementation of a user-oriented speech recognition interface: the synergy of technology and human factors

The design and implementation of a user-oriented speech recognition interface are described. The interface enables the use of speech recognition in so-called interactive voice response systems which can be accessed via a telephone connection. In the design of the interface a synergy of technology and human factors is achieved. This synergy is very important for making speech interfaces a natural and acceptable form of human-machine interaction. Important concepts such as interfaces, human factors and speech recognition are discussed. Additionally, an indication is given as to how the synergy of human factors and technology can be realised by a sketch of the interface's implementation. An explanation is also provided of how the interface might be integrated in different applications fruitfully