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

Aplicación de la técnica del rompecabezas para la enseñanza de diagramas de clases de análisis en la especialidad de ingeniería informática

El empleo de diagramas con el lenguaje de modelado UML es ampliamente difundido en proyectos de desarrollo de software, puesto que permiten representar diferentes vistas del software que se está construyendo, lo cual apoya en gran medida las labores de los desarrolladores. Uno de estos diagramas es el diagrama de clases de análisis, el que permite representar los conceptos claves del software a desarrollar. Sin embargo, es frecuente que los alumnos cometan errores al realizar este tipo de diagramas, pese a haber participado en clases magistrales sobre este tema. Teniendo en cuenta la problemática planteada y con el objetivo de mejorar el aprendizaje de los alumnos, para reducir los errores en la elaboración de diagramas de clases de análisis, se diseñaron y realizaron clases con la técnica de aprendizaje activo del rompecabezas. En una primera etapa de esta investigación, se diseñó y aplicó una clase con la técnica del rompecabezas como refuerzo a las clases magistrales previamente impartidas sobre el tema y, en una segunda etapa, se diseñó y aplicó una clase con esta técnica que reemplazó a la clase magistral que tradicionalmente se impartía. Según los resultados de las evaluaciones que se tomaron a los alumnos en ambas etapas de la investigación, se pudo corroborar que las clases con la técnica del rompecabezas produjeron una mejora significativa en el aprendizaje de los alumnos que participaron en ellas. Además, teniendo en cuenta los resultados del cuestionario anónimo que se aplicó al finalizar las clases, se arribó a la conclusión de que los alumnos tuvieron una percepción positiva del trabajo colaborativo realizado en clase.Tesi

Exploring student perceptions about the use of visual programming environments, their relation to student learning styles and their impact on student motivation in undergraduate introductory programming modules

My research aims to explore how students perceive the usability and enjoyment of visual/block-based programming environments (VPEs), to what extent their learning styles relate to these perceptions and finally to what extent these tools facilitate student understanding of basic programming constructs and impact their motivation to learn programming

Impact of Scratch on the achievements of first-year computer science students in programming in some Nigerian polytechnics

To support the advancement of modern civilisation, our institutions of higher learning must produce the right pool of professionals, who can develop innovative software. However, the teaching and learning of the first programming language (CS1) remains a great challenge for most educators and novice computer students. Indicators such as failure and attrition rates, and CS1 student engagement, continue to show that conventional pedagogy does not adequately meet the needs of some beginning CS students. For its ease in introducing novices to programming, Scratch—a visual programming environment following the constructionism philosophy of Seymour Papert—is now employed even in some higher education CS1 classes with mixed evidence of its impact. Scratch captures the constructionist agenda by its slogan: “Imagine, Program, Share.” Therefore, this study explored the impart of using a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy on higher education CS1 students’ achievements. This study also sought to compare the impacts of the two CS1 modes: the conventional class - involving textual programming language, lectures and labs, and the constructionist Scratch inquiry-based programming class. It further aims to discover if gender, academic level, age, prior programming, and visual artistic abilities moderate the effects of programming pedagogy on students’ achievements. To realize the study’s aims, the study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent groups design, involving four intact CS1 classes of polytechnic students (N = 418) in north-central Nigeria. The investigation was conducted in phases: a pilot (n = 236) and main (n=182) studies lasting two academic sessions, with each study comprising one experimental and one control group. In each session, learning in both modes lasted for six weeks. In both studies, purposive sampling was employed to select institutions, and selected institutions were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Instruments employed included CS1 Student Profile Questionnaire (CSPROQ) and Introductory Programming Achievement Test (IPAT). To strengthen the research design, I employed Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) algorithm—after conducting a priori power analysis—to generate matched random samples of cases from both studies. Thus, research data employed in the analysis include: from the pilot, 41 cases in each treatment group; from the main study, 42 cases in each treatment group. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to find answers to research questions and test the research hypothesis. Data from both studies satisfied the requirements for statistical tests employed, i.e., t-test and ANCOVA. The alpha level used in testing hypotheses was p = 0.05. The dependent variable is the IPAT post-test score, while the independent variables are treatment, gender, age, academic achievement level, prior programming, and prior visual art. The covariate was the IPAT pretest score. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 23. The t-test results from both pilot and main studies indicated that, both programming pedagogies had significant effects on student IPAT scores, although the effect of the constructionist Scratch intervention was higher. Results from the one-way ANCOVA analysis of both pilot and main study data—while controlling for students’ IPAT pretest scores—yielded the same outcome: There was significant main effect of treatment on students’ IPAT posttest scores, although the impact was moderate. Controlling for pre test scores, analysis of the main studies data yielded no significant main effects of: gender, age, academic level, prior programming and prior visual artistic ability. The result from the main study also reveals no interaction effect of treatment, gender, academic level, age, prior programming, and prior artistic ability. While the quality of CS1 students’ performance in each session varies as their IPAT achievements show, yet the results of this research revealed a consistent pattern: Students in the constructionist Scratch class outperformed those in the conventional class, although the impart was moderate. This finding implies college students without prior programming experience can perform better in a class following a constructionist Scratch programming pedagogy. The study recommends the use of Scratch, following a constructionist pedagogy with first-year students in colleges, especially those without prior background in programmingSchool of ComputingPh. D. (Computing Education