2,158 research outputs found
Visual and Textual Programming Languages: A Systematic Review of the Literature
It is well documented, and has been the topic of much research, that Computer
Science courses tend to have higher than average drop out rates at third level.
This is a problem that needs to be addressed with urgency but also caution. The
required number of Computer Science graduates is growing every year but the
number of graduates is not meeting this demand and one way that this problem
can be alleviated is to encourage students at an early age towards studying
Computer Science courses.
This paper presents a systematic literature review on the role of visual and
textual programming languages when learning to program, particularly as a first
programming language. The approach is systematic, in that a structured search
of electronic resources has been conducted, and the results are presented and
quantitatively analysed. This study will give insight into whether or not the
current approaches to teaching young learners programming are viable, and
examines what we can do to increase the interest and retention of these
students as they progress through their education.Comment: 18 pages (including 2 bibliography pages), 3 figure
Colleague supervision – “ignored and undervalued”? The views of students and supervisors in a new university
Colleague supervision is increasingly used in UK modern (post-92) universities to support the progress of academic staff to doctoral qualifications. Denicolo (2004) argues that it is a ‘role relationship that has been
largely ignored or undervalued by administration’ (p. 693) and colleague students and supervisors ‘felt more vulnerable’ than other students/supervisors (p. 706). This small-scale research amongst students and staff in a colleague supervision relationship at a single UK modern university tests Denicolo’s (2004) propositions and those of Deuchar (2008) on supervision styles. It found that students did not feel ‘vulnerable’ but considered there were significant benefits from colleague supervision. They, and some supervisors, were also very supportive of group supervision methods that, alongside conventional individual supervision, gave strong support to the progress of colleague students to timely completion of their doctoral studies. As many UK modern universities are attempting to build research capacity through doctoral research training, the use of group supervision alongside colleague supervisors may offer benefits in a time when supervisory capacity has been stretched
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
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