The ChildsPlay Approach: Evaluating an Experimental Approach for Teaching Introductory CS at University

University students first learning about computer science (CS) can be intimidated and frustrated by programming. In addition, the general-purpose programming languages chosen for introducing students to programming contain several features that have the potential to overwhelm and distract them from focused curriculum topics, which can lead to reduced retention of CS students and less student comprehension of fundamental CS concepts. We hypothesize that a more successful introductory CS course can be achieved by using a new approach that uses a familiar, physical game theme and a delayed-coding, concept-first approach followed by a language with a smaller feature set designed specifically for teaching fundamental CS concepts, such as types, values, conditions, control structures, and functions. To test this hypothesis, we examine two sections of a first-year university CS orientation class. One section was taught using the university’s traditional approach for teaching the course. The second section was taught using the new approach. We evaluate each approach’s effectiveness by comparing multiple outcomes from the different sections of the course including student retention, subsequent class performance, grades, reported engagement and interest in the class, and reported changes in debugging practices. Based on student survey responses before and after the two sections, we find that students in the experimental section using the new approach like the use of games as a way to teach about computation but had lower engagement in their class, likely due to the programming language used. We find no difference in student performance in subsequent computer science courses