Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

Games, Robots, and Robot Games: Complementary Contexts for Introductory Computing Education

Using games to teach introductory computing courses provides another context with which to exploring the possible attraction, retention, and education of a new generation of computer science (CS) students. At Bryn Mawr College, we have been actively exploring these contexts and have identified four that have great promise for use in teaching introductory computing courses: visualization, multimedia, robotics, and, most recently, games. We are currently using and analysing robots and have some preliminary results. We believe that much of what we have learned in using robots in the classroom can be applied to the other contexts, especially gaming. In addition, many aspects of gaming can also be used in an introductory course using robots. This paper will explore robotics, gaming, their interactions, and provide suggestions on how best to proceed in making the most out of games in the classroom

Bricklayer: An Authentic Introduction to the Functional Programming Language SML

Functional programming languages are seen by many as instrumental to effectively utilizing the computational power of multi-core platforms. As a result, there is growing interest to introduce functional programming and functional thinking as early as possible within the computer science curriculum. Bricklayer is an API, written in SML, that provides a set of abstractions for creating LEGO artifacts which can be viewed using LEGO Digital Designer. The goal of Bricklayer is to create a problem space (i.e., a set of LEGO artifacts) that is accessible and engaging to programmers (especially novice programmers) while providing an authentic introduction to the functional programming language SML.Comment: In Proceedings TFPIE 2014, arXiv:1412.473

Interview with Mark Guzdial, Georgia Institute of Technology: Computing as Creation

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2576891.2576892Mark Guzdial is a Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). His research focuses on the intersection of computing and education, from the role of computing in facilitating education to how we educate about computing. In this interview with him, he discusses how we teach computing and to whom, especially his contention that a contextualized approach is a powerful tool to teach everyone about computing

Teaching how to program using automated assessment and functional glossy games (Experience Report)

Our department has long been an advocate of the functional-first school of programming and has been teaching Haskell as a first language in introductory programming course units for 20 years. Although the functional style is largely beneficial, it needs to be taught in an enthusiastic and captivating way to fight the unusually high computer science drop-out rates and appeal to a heterogeneous population of students.This paper reports our experience of restructuring, over the last 5 years, an introductory laboratory course unit that trains hands-on functional programming concepts and good software development practices. We have been using game programming to keep students motivated, and following a methodology that hinges on test-driven development and continuous bidirectional feedback. We summarise successes and missteps, and how we have learned from our experience to arrive at a model for comprehensive and interactive functional game programming assignments and a general functionally-powered automated assessment platform, that together provide a more engaging learning experience for students. In our experience, we have been able to teach increasingly more advanced functional programming concepts while improving student engagement.The authors would like to thank the precursors of the 20-year functional programming culture and FPro unit at our university, and all the instructors and TAs that have been involved in the PLab unit throughout the years. This work is financed by the ERDFs European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006961, and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT s Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia as part of project UID/EEA/50014/2013

A recipe for game development assignments in CS2

CS2
 classes
 suffer
 from
 a
 trend
 of
 dropping
 enrollment,
 poor
 gender
 diversity,
 the
 challenge
 of
 students
 learning
 a
 secondary
 programming
 language,
 and
 difficulties
 related
 to
 inadequate
 (or
 varied)
 preparation
 provided
 by
 CS1.
 
 Surveying
 educational
 research
 has
 indicated
 that
 using
 game
 development
 as
 the
focus
for
 assignments
 can
 mitigate
 many
 of
 the
 challenges
 of
 teaching
 CS1.

This
 paper 
has 
extracted 
many 
of 
the 
key
 beneficial
 components
 of
 game
 development
 assignments
 in
 CS1
 and
 provides
 them
 as
 a
 recipe
 for
 beneficially
 augmenting
 CS2
 with
 game 
development
 assignments.

 It
 is 
expected
 that
 all
 CS2
 courses
 can
 be
 enhanced
 by
 applying
 the
 elements
 presented
 within
 this
 recipe

Understanding teacher development: case study of knowledge and beliefs in English language teaching in Mexico

This thesis reports on a case study that discusses the interconnection between the knowledge, beliefs and practices of teachers of English as a foreign language in a state university in Mexico. Previous research suggests that there is a knowledge base for teaching that is significant for teachers irrespective of the subject they teach. Research also indicates that teaching practices are shaped by teachers’ beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of the learning process and the nature of the teaching act. Nevertheless, it appears that the development of language teachers tends to be focused on increasing the knowledge required for the teaching of English without recognising that teaching practices are also informed by the beliefs that teachers hold. The purpose of this case study was therefore to increase our understanding of how the knowledge and beliefs of the case study teachers intersected to inform their teaching practices, and to draw some conclusions that could be used to further English language teacher development. The case study involved four teachers of English in a state university in Mexico. It was conducted from an interpretivist approach and drew on the perspectives of the participant teachers. The methods used were: observations and video recordings of classes; focus groups, interviews and conversations with the case study teachers; teachers’ journals. The words and actions of the teachers were the units of the within-in case and cross-case analysis undertaken. The findings of the study illustrate three main aspects: Firstly, teacher’s knowledge plays a supporting role in their teaching practices and appears to be composed of different knowledge categories that are not independent but interwoven. In addition, any category presupposes other knowledge categories since any of them implies knowledge covered by other categories. Secondly, teaching practices are not only informed by teachers’ knowledge but also by their beliefs. Moreover, the study suggests that teachers’ beliefs have a predominant role in their teaching since teachers claim to use only the knowledge in which they believe. Finally, the case study suggests that the learning and teaching experiences of the teachers are a major source of their knowledge and beliefs, and beliefs that are experientially engrained appear to be more influential than theoretically embraced beliefs. The case study concludes that teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and teaching practices interact and inform each other persistently in a dynamic process that could usefully be represented as a gear model of the relationships between the three elements. This model would illustrate the dynamic process more accurately since it represents them within a constant interaction process. It is also argued that the relations between the three elements are pertinent irrespective of the context of the study as this offers a frame of reference for other researchers and teacher educators interested in understanding the interconnection between teachers’ practices and their knowledge and beliefs