Contemporary developments in teaching and learning introductory programming: Towards a research proposal

The teaching and learning of introductory programming in tertiary institutions is problematic. Failure rates are high and the inability of students to complete small programming tasks at the completion of introductory units is not unusual. The literature on teaching programming contains many examples of changes in teaching strategies and curricula that have been implemented in an effort to reduce failure rates. This paper analyses contemporary research into the area, and summarises developments in the teaching of introductory programming. It also focuses on areas for future research which will potentially lead to improvements in both the teaching and learning of introductory programming. A graphical representation of the issues from the literature that are covered in the document is provided in the introduction

TLAD 2010 Proceedings:8th international workshop on teaching, learning and assesment of databases (TLAD)

This is the eighth in the series of highly successful international workshops on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Databases (TLAD 2010), which once again is held as a workshop of BNCOD 2010 - the 27th International Information Systems Conference. TLAD 2010 is held on the 28th June at the beautiful Dudhope Castle at the Abertay University, just before BNCOD, and hopes to be just as successful as its predecessors.The teaching of databases is central to all Computing Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems and Information Technology courses, and this year, the workshop aims to continue the tradition of bringing together both database teachers and researchers, in order to share good learning, teaching and assessment practice and experience, and further the growing community amongst database academics. As well as attracting academics from the UK community, the workshop has also been successful in attracting academics from the wider international community, through serving on the programme committee, and attending and presenting papers.This year, the workshop includes an invited talk given by Richard Cooper (of the University of Glasgow) who will present a discussion and some results from the Database Disciplinary Commons which was held in the UK over the academic year. Due to the healthy number of high quality submissions this year, the workshop will also present seven peer reviewed papers, and six refereed poster papers. Of the seven presented papers, three will be presented as full papers and four as short papers. These papers and posters cover a number of themes, including: approaches to teaching databases, e.g. group centered and problem based learning; use of novel case studies, e.g. forensics and XML data; techniques and approaches for improving teaching and student learning processes; assessment techniques, e.g. peer review; methods for improving students abilities to develop database queries and develop E-R diagrams; and e-learning platforms for supporting teaching and learning

TLAD 2010 Proceedings:8th international workshop on teaching, learning and assesment of databases (TLAD)

This is the eighth in the series of highly successful international workshops on the Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Databases (TLAD 2010), which once again is held as a workshop of BNCOD 2010 - the 27th International Information Systems Conference. TLAD 2010 is held on the 28th June at the beautiful Dudhope Castle at the Abertay University, just before BNCOD, and hopes to be just as successful as its predecessors.The teaching of databases is central to all Computing Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems and Information Technology courses, and this year, the workshop aims to continue the tradition of bringing together both database teachers and researchers, in order to share good learning, teaching and assessment practice and experience, and further the growing community amongst database academics. As well as attracting academics from the UK community, the workshop has also been successful in attracting academics from the wider international community, through serving on the programme committee, and attending and presenting papers.This year, the workshop includes an invited talk given by Richard Cooper (of the University of Glasgow) who will present a discussion and some results from the Database Disciplinary Commons which was held in the UK over the academic year. Due to the healthy number of high quality submissions this year, the workshop will also present seven peer reviewed papers, and six refereed poster papers. Of the seven presented papers, three will be presented as full papers and four as short papers. These papers and posters cover a number of themes, including: approaches to teaching databases, e.g. group centered and problem based learning; use of novel case studies, e.g. forensics and XML data; techniques and approaches for improving teaching and student learning processes; assessment techniques, e.g. peer review; methods for improving students abilities to develop database queries and develop E-R diagrams; and e-learning platforms for supporting teaching and learning

Automated Feedback for 'Fill in the Gap' Programming Exercises

Timely feedback is a vital component in the learning process. It is especially important for beginner students in Information Technology since many have not yet formed an effective internal model of a computer that they can use to construct viable knowledge. Research has shown that learning efficiency is increased if immediate feedback is provided for students. Automatic analysis of student programs has the potential to provide immediate feedback for students and to assist teaching staff in the marking process. This paper describes a “fill in the gap” programming analysis framework which tests students’ solutions and gives feedback on their correctness, detects logic errors and provides hints on how to fix these errors. Currently, the framework is being used with the Environment for Learning to Programming (ELP) system at Queensland University of Technology (QUT); however, the framework can be integrated into any existing online learning environment or programming Integrated Development Environment (IDE

Brave New World: Can We Engineer a Better Start for Freshers?

Abstract - The crucial importance of first experiences in shaping future success has been widely acknowledged. Creating the best foundations in large cohorts of students from diverse backgrounds presents special problems of its own. But a secure foundation can enhance student achievement and improve retention – and the students may even have fun too. Research has suggested that building learning communities can enhance student engagement and achievement. This paper examines how introducing non-technical activities can establish sound foundations for a university career by a) addressing objectives in the wider curriculum and b) promoting non-technical skills and experience of group working. A set of changes introduced to five degree cohorts in our academic school were designed to complement enhancements to our technical curriculum introduced during many years of debate and consideration. The changes have impacted upon generic and technical educational experiences. The paper presents an evaluation of the programme of changes through two iterations from the perspective of both faculty and student

Intelligent computer-aided training and tutoring

Specific autonomous training systems based on artificial intelligence technology for use by NASA astronauts, flight controllers, and ground-based support personnel that demonstrate an alternative to current training systems are described. In addition to these specific systems, the evolution of a general architecture for autonomous intelligent training systems that integrates many of the features of traditional training programs with artificial intelligence techniques is presented. These Intelligent Computer-Aided Training (ICAT) systems would provide, for the trainee, much of the same experience that could be gained from the best on-the-job training. By integrating domain expertise with a knowledge of appropriate training methods, an ICAT session should duplicate, as closely as possible, the trainee undergoing on-the-job training in the task environment, benefitting from the full attention of a task expert who is also an expert trainer. Thus, the philosophy of the ICAT system is to emulate the behavior of an experienced individual devoting his full time and attention to the training of a novice - proposing challenging training scenarios, monitoring and evaluating the actions of the trainee, providing meaningful comments in response to trainee errors, responding to trainee requests for information, giving hints (if appropriate), and remembering the strengths and weaknesses displayed by the trainee so that appropriate future exercises can be designed

Design and Assessment of an Interactive Digital Tutorial for Undergraduate-Level Sandstone Petrology

This study describes the goals, features and effectiveness of a digital interactive tutorial which was created to provide undergraduates a 'virtual microscope' resource for learning sandstone petrology. The goal of the tutorial is to provide students exposure to the highly visual subject matter of petrography outside the confines of organized laboratory exercises. The hope is that widespread use of such digital interactive formats will allow students to gain high levels of expertise with description and interpretation of earth materials despite the reduced amounts of hands-on laboratory practice that are allowed by modern curricula. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Functional Baby Talk: Analysis of Code Fragments from Novice Haskell Programmers

What kinds of mistakes are made by novice Haskell developers, as they learn about functional programming? Is it possible to analyze these errors in order to improve the pedagogy of Haskell? In 2016, we delivered a massive open online course which featured an interactive code evaluation environment. We captured and analyzed 161K interactions from learners. We report typical novice developer behavior; for instance, the mean time spent on an interactive tutorial is around eight minutes. Although our environment was restricted, we gain some understanding of Haskell novice errors. Parenthesis mismatches, lexical scoping errors and do block misunderstandings are common. Finally, we make recommendations about how such beginner code evaluation environments might be enhanced