Investigating the effects of personality traits on pair programming in a higher education setting through a family of experiments

Evidence from our systematic literature review revealed numerous inconsistencies in findings from the Pair Programming (PP) literature regarding the effects of personality on PP’s effectiveness as a pedagogical tool. In particular: i) the effect of differing personality traits of pairs on the successful implementation of pair-programming (PP) within a higher education setting is still unclear, and ii) the personality instrument most often used had been Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), despite being an indicator criticized by personality psychologists as unreliable in measuring an individual’s personality traits. These issues motivated the research described in this paper. We conducted a series of five formal experiments (one of which was a replicated experiment), between 2009 and 2010, at the University of Auckland, to investigate the effects of personality composition on PP’s effectiveness. Each experiment looked at a particular personality trait of the Five-Factor personality framework. This framework comprises five broad traits (Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism), and our experiments focused on three of these - Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. A total of 594 undergraduate students participated as subjects. Overall, our findings for all five experiments, including the replication, showed that Conscientiousness and Neuroticism did not present a statistically significant effect upon paired students’ academic performance. However, Openness played a significant role in differentiating paired students’ academic performance. Participants’ survey results also indicated that PP not only caused an increase in satisfaction and confidence levels but also brought enjoyment to the tutorial classes and enhanced students’ motivation

A Study of Pair Programming Enjoyment and Attendance using Study Motivation and Strategy Metrics

We explore educational pair programming in a university context with high student autonomy and individual responsibility. The data comes from two separate introductory programming courses with optional pair programming assignments. We analyze lab attendance and course outcomes to determine whether students' previous programming experience or gender influence attendance. We further compare these statistics to self-reported data on study motivation, study strategies, and student enjoyment of pair programming. The influence of grading systems on pair programming behavior and course outcomes is also examined. Our results suggest that gender and previous programming experience correlate with participation in pair programming labs. At the same time, there are no significant differences in self-reported enjoyment of pair programming between any of the groups, and the results from commonly used study motivation and strategy questionnaires provide little insight into students/ actual behavior.Peer reviewe

Self-Confidence of Undergraduate Students in Designing Software Architecture

Contributions: This paper investigates the relations between undergraduate software architecture students’ self-confidence and their course expectations, cognitive levels, preferred learning methods, and critical thinking. Background: these students, often, lack self-confidence in their ability to use their knowledge to design software architectures. Intended Outcomes: Self-confidence is expected to be related to the students’ course expectations, cognitive levels, preferred learning methods, and critical thinking. Application Design: We developed a questionnaire with open-ended questions to assess the self-confidence levels and related factors, which was taken by one-hundred ten students in two semesters. The students answers were coded and analyzed afterward. Findings: We found that self-confidence is weakly associated with the students’ course expectations and critical thinking and independent from their cognitive levels and preferred learning methods. The results suggest that to improve the self-confidence of the students, the instructors should ensure that the students’ have correct course expectations and work on improving the students’ critical thinking capabilities

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

Pariohjelmointi olio-ohjelmoinnin opetusmenetelmänä

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli esitellä pariohjelmoinnin hyötyjä ja haasteita sekä tarkastella sitä opetusmenetelmänä. Pariohjelmoinnilla tarkoitetaan menetelmää, jossa kaksi ohjelmoijaa tekee tiivistä yhteistyötä saman päätteen ääressä toisen tuottaessa lähdekoodia ja toisen korjatessa virheitä ja tehdessä kehitysehdotuksia. Rooleja vaihdetaan säännöllisesti. Varsinaista toimeksiantajaa työllä ei ollut, sillä opinnäytetyön kirjoittaja halusi itse tutkia pariohjelmoinnin hyödyntämistä opetuksessa perehdyttyään menetelmään ammattiharjoittelun yhteydessä. Pariohjelmointia toimivuutta opetusmenetelmänä tutkittiin Tietojenkäsittelyn koulutusohjelman olio-ohjelmoinnin opintojaksolla. Pariohjelmointikokeilu toteutettiin syksyllä 2012. Opiskelijat jaettiin pareihin alkukartoituksen perusteella siten, että osapuolten ohjelmointitaidot vastasivat toisiaan. Pareja vaihdettiin opiskelijoiden halukkuuden mukaan opintojakson puolivälissä. Parit työskentelivät pääsääntöisesti siten, että rooleja vaihdettiin jokaisen tapaamiskerran aluksi. Opintojaksoon kuuluvat harjoitustehtävät ohjelmoitiin parin kanssa. Harjoitustyöt sekä tentit suoritettiin kuitenkin itsenäisesti. Pariohjelmointi ei ollut pakollista, mutta sitä suositeltiin kaikille opiskelijoille. Pariohjelmoinnin käyttämistä opetusmenetelmänä tarkasteltiin niin opiskelijoiden kuin opettajankin näkökulmasta. Opiskelijat vastasivat neljään sähköiseen kyselyyn, joista kolme toteutettiin opintojakson aikana ja yksi noin kolmen kuukauden kuluttua opintojakson päättymisestä. Kyselyillä kartoitettiin mm. suhtautumista pariohjelmointiin, sen toteutumista ja vaikutusta oppimiseen sekä pariohjelmoinnin hyödyntämistä opintojakson päättymisen jälkeen. Opettajan havaintoja ja näkemyksiä kartoitettiin haastattelun avulla. Syksyn 2012 toteutuskertaa verrattiin myös aiempien vuosien toteutuskertoihin oppimistulosten ja läpäisyprosentin suhteen. Tutkimuksen tietoperustana olivat aiemmin tehdyt tutkimukset pariohjelmoinnin hyödyistä ja haasteista sekä menetelmän käytöstä opetuksessa. Pariohjelmointikokeilun tuloksena havaittiin, että menetelmä soveltuu opiskelijoille, joilla on riittävät perusvalmiudet ohjelmoinnissa sekä halua ja kykyä yhteistyöhön. Opiskelijat, jotka hyödynsivät pariohjelmointia eniten, saivat korkeimmat arvosanat. Vastaavasti opiskelijat, joilla oli heikko lähtötaso ja vaikeuksia kommunikoida parin kanssa, menestyivät opintojaksolla vaatimattomammin. Suhtautuminen pariohjelmointiin muuttui opintojakson edetessä pääsääntöisesti positiivisemmaksi, kun opiskelijat havaitsivat hyötyvänsä parin kanssa työskentelystä. Pariohjelmoinnin hyödyntäminen opetuksessa voi antaa opiskelijalle lisävalmiuksia tuleville opintojaksoille sekä työelämään. Pariohjelmointia voi suositella opetusmenetelmäksi, mutta lisäkokeiluja tarvitaan mahdollisimman toimivan kokonaisuuden saavuttamiseksi. Parien muodostamisessa voisi kokeilla erilaisia kokoonpanoja. Lisäksi oppimistuloksia voisi verrata rinnakkain etenevien toteutuskertojen välillä. Toisessa ryhmässä opetus olisi perinteistä, kun taas toisessa hyödynnettäisiin pariohjelmointia.The purpose of this thesis was to present the costs and benefits of pair programming and to study pair programming as a teaching method. Pair programming is a programming technique in which two programmers use one computer to work together on the same task switching roles as a driver and a co-pilot. There was no actual assigner to this thesis. The author herself wanted to explore pair programming based on her previous experience. Pair programming as a teaching method was studied in the Degree programme in Business Information Systems in an object-oriented programming course. The pair programming experiment was carried out in the autumn of 2012. The students were divided into pairs on the basis of their programming skills, so that the parties' programming skills mirrored each other. The pairs were changed in the middle of the course. The pairs worked so that the roles were switched in the beginning of each lesson. The course included exercises programmed with a partner. The assignments and exams, however, were performed independently. Programming in pairs was not mandatory, but it was recommended for all students. The effectiveness of pair programming as a teaching method was examined from both students’ and teacher’s perspective. Students answered to four electronic surveys, of which three were carried out during the course, and one about three months after the end of the course. The questions asked in the surveys concerned attitude towards pair programming, implementation of pair programming, its impact on learning, as well as using pair programming after the end of the course. The teacher’s observations and views were mapped with an interview. The implementation of the course in the autumn 2012 was com-pared to previous years in terms of learning outcomes and throughput per cent. The theoretical background of this thesis was based on the earlier studies of pair programming, its cost and benefits, as well as pair programming in education. As a result of this study it was found that pair programming is suitable for students who have sufficient basic skills in programming and willingness and ability to cooperate. Students who used pair programming received the highest marks. On the other hand students with low initial level and difficulties in communicating with a partner, performed modestly. The attitude towards pair programming changed more positive as the course progressed, as the students found to benefit from pair programming. Using pair programming as a teaching method can provide students with additional capabilities for future studies and work. Pair Programming can be recommended as a teaching method, but further experiments are needed in order to achieve a functional entity. Different combinations could be used in forming pairs. In addition, the learning outcomes could be compared side by side between two course implementations held at the same time. The other group would have traditional teaching, whereas the other would use pair programming as a teaching method

Programação em duplas: estado da arte

Resumo: Programação em Duplas (Pair Programming – PP) é uma prática colaborativa de desenvolvimento de software em que dois programadores trabalham ao mesmo tempo em um único computador e na mesma tarefa de programação. Foi relatado na literatura que o conhecimento sobre PP encontra-se disperso e desorganizado. Com o intuito de colocar um pouco de ordem a esse caos, o presente estudo realizou uma busca exaustiva de trabalhos sobre PP em algumas das bibliotecas digitais mais importantes do mundo em Ciência da Computação (Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, ACM, IEEE Explore, Springer, CiteSeer e ScienceDirect, entre outras) e no Google/Scholar. A partir da completa leitura dos trabalhos encontrados, procurou-se definir temas chave dentro da área descrevendo todos os estudos que se relacionam com cada tema. Os achados são interessantes e extensos – eles podem ser encontrados durante toda a leitura do presente artigo

She is a computer scientist: a quantitative comparison between the effectiveness of game design studios and robotics at enhancing women\u27s learning of, self-efficacy in, attitudes toward, and domain identification with computer science

The underrepresentation of women in computer science is a serious issue with ramifications that affect not only women working in the field, but also the field at large and the national economy. While the problem is attributed to several interconnected causes, such as computer knowledge, experience, and familiarity; they do not tell the entire story, nor do they point to a global trend. Studies indicate that these factors did not stop the computer science field from achieving a balanced male-female ratio in non-western countries. Since no single factor can be attributed as the primary cause of this complicated problem, and in an effort to minimize the issue and move computer science in western countries closer toward an egalitarian model, the approach taken to enhance the representation of women in computer science needed to be multifaceted. The most common factors revealed in the literature as possible contributors to the problem were listed and categorized. Based on these factors, the study hypothesized a model (Amal’s Model) and tested its effectiveness at predicting students’ domain identifications with computer science. Following this, the study suggested and tested the impact of coupling constructionist gaming with studio pedagogy in a game design studio on students’, especially women’s, learning of, self-efficacy in, attitudes toward, and domain identifications with computer science. The results compared the implementation of the game design studio with robotics and traditional pedagogical practices. The participant body (N=94) was composed primarily of computer science majors and non-majors who were enrolled during the Fall 2017 semester. The research design included block randomization in order to make sure that the male-female ratio was relatively balanced across all of the groups. A pre-posttest experimental design was utilized to compare students’ learning of, self-efficacy in, attitudes toward, and domain identifications with computer science in three groups: game design studio, robotics and coding, and a control group, with special attention to any gender-based differences that were revealed during the study. The data were analyzed using statistical tests and results showed that Amal’s Model was significantly effective at predicting students’ (both men’s and women’s) domain identifications with computer science. The study showed that aspects of Amal’s Model, including students’ learning of, self-efficacy in, and attitudes toward computer science, were significant predictors of their computer domain identifications with the field. The results concluded that increasing women’s domain identifications with the field, to match domain identification levels held by men, would, in turn, encourage women to pursue a degree in the field. Results from the current study showed that the game design studio had a significant impact on students’ (both men’s and women’s) learning of, self-efficacy in, attitudes toward and domain identifications with computer science when compared with the control group. When robotics was added to the comparison, the game design studio was effective at improving students’ learning and attitudes, and significantly effective at improving their self-efficacy and domain identifications from the pre-test to the pos-test. Unlike the findings produced by several other studies conducted in this area, when students in the study were asked about the suitability of the field for women, the majority of women and men involved agreed that the field is suitable for women. In analyzing the results for apparent gender-related changes in students’ learning, self-efficacy, attitudes, and domain identifications from pre-test to the post-test, it was found that both teaching approaches were effective at improving men’s and women’s learning from the pretest to the post-test. Regardless of the differences between groups in men’s learning of, self-efficacy in, attitudes toward, and domain identification with the field, the differences were statistically insignificant across the groups. While women in the robotics and coding group had significantly higher self-efficacy beliefs than the control group, women in the game design studio showed significant improvements, not only in their self-efficacy, but in their learning, attitudes and domain identifications when compared with the control group. Even though women in the game design studio had slightly lower domain identification levels than men in the same group, they demonstrated the highest statistical improvement in their domain identification with computer science when compared to not only the control group, but also the robotics and coding group. The study demonstrated that women in the control group consistently had the lowest scores in their learning of, self-efficacy in, attitudes toward, and domain identifications with computer science. The results, including current findings and recommendations for enhancing the representation of women in computer science, and suggestions for future studies, were discussed in great detail

Personality and Pair Programming : How do Pair Programmers Collaborate?

For å undersøke samarbeidet i parprogrammering kodet vi 44 lydopptak av parprogrammering. Vi delte lydfilene inn i segmenter og tildelte hvert segment til kategorier som vi valgte ut av en samling kategorier som vi hadde utviklet spesielt for dette formålet. Etter å ha kodet lydfilene, utførte jeg en litteraturgjennomgang. Jeg formulerte deretter forslag til mulige forhold mellom parprogrammerernes personlighet og samarbeidsformen deres under parprogrammeringen. Jeg foretok deretter en statistisk analyse for å undersøke disse forholdene. De fleste av mine forslag til forhold fant jeg ingen støtte for gjennom analysen. Mine viktigste forholdsforslag ble imidlertid støttet av analysen. Mitt aller viktigste forholdsforslag undersøkte hvorvidt personlighet hadde noen som helst innflytelse på samarbeidet involvert i parprogrammering. Analysen for dette forholdsforslaget viste at nesten alle personlighetsfaktorene påvirket forekomsten av minst én samarbeidskategori. Et annet viktig forholdsforslag, og det som var i størst grad basert på tidligere funn fra litteraturen jeg gjennomgikk, viste seg også å være støttet av analysen. Par som består av to personer med store personlighetsforskjeller vil kommunisere mer enn parene der de to programmererne er mer like hverandre. Imidlertid så vi at personlighetsfaktorforskjeller påvirket forholdet forskjellig avhengig av hvilken personlighetsfaktor det gjaldt. En høy forskjell i hvert eneste av personlighetsmålene vi brukte, vil derfor ikke nødvendigvis være bra for samarbeidet. Alt i alt er det klart at personligheten til de to parprogrammererne vil ha en signifikant påvirkning på samarbeidet i parprogrammeringen, men inntil videre er de forskjellige samarbeidstypenes påvirkning på parprogrammerernes programmeringsytelse ikke like grundig undersøkt, og det vil være et interessant område for videre forskning. Analyseresultatene for flere av forholdsforslagene var ikke-signifikante, men lovende. Disse kan muligens bli bevist eller avkreftet ved analyser senere med en større samplingsstørrelse