Test-Driven Learning in High School Computer Science

Test-driven development is a style of software development that emphasizes writing tests first and running them frequently with the aid of automated testing tools. This development style is widely used in the software development industry to improve the rate of development while reducing software defects. Some computer science educators are adopting the test-driven development approach to help improve student understanding and performance on programming projects. Several studies have examined the benefits of teaching test-driven programming techniques to undergraduate student programmers, with generally positive results. However, the usage of test-driven learning at the high school level has not been studied to the same extent. This thesis investigates the use of test-driven learning in high school computer science classes and whether test-driven learning provides benefits for high school as well as college students

Proceedings of the RESOLVE Workshop 2002

Proceedings of the RESOLVE Workshop 200

Retention of Women in Computer Science: Why Women Persist in Their Computer Science Majors

Retention of women through graduation in Computer Science (CS) majors is one of the biggest challenges for CS education. Most research in this area focuses on factors influencing attrition rather than why and how women remain committed. The goal of this research study is to understand retention from the perspective of women who persisted in their CS major. Using the theoretical lens of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice, I designed and conducted a study that involved focus groups, interviews, journey maps, and experience sampling methods. I found that retention of women in this study was influenced by four different types of interactions and eight different practices inside the CS major. I also found that learning was a matter of multimembership at the intersection of several different communities which supported both these women’s learning and retention. Finally, this dissertation provides a cross-case study narrative that highlights commonalities and differences of different pathways of ongoing participation investigated in this study. Such narrative is illustrated by five individual case studies of five women persisting in their CS major

Female computer science and engineering undergraduates: reflections on participation in the academic landscape

Women continue to be underrepresented in computer science and technology related fields despite their significant contributions. The lack of diversity in technology related fields is problematic as it can result in the perpetuation of negative stereotypes and closed-minded, unchecked biases. As technology tools become integral to our daily lives it is essential that a diverse group of people contribute to the sociocultural environments where we participate and live. This dissertation is a phenomenological, interview-based, study designed to investigate the lived experience of women in undergraduate computer science and engineering programs. The purpose of this study was to better understand the factors that might encourage or discourage the participation women in the major and in the field. In order to grow the number of women in technical fields it is important to first understand what attracts them to the field and what supports they find helpful or not helpful. This study illuminated some recommendations that might guide the work of practitioners in secondary schools as well as higher education. Among other things, participants appreciated being challenged by the content and assignments, feeling support from faculty and peers, feeling a connection to the culture, effective encouragement to persist, and engaging interactions. All of the participants described having gone into their field to make a positive impact on society and they also all described the importance having at least one supportive female mentor. Participants described the importance of having spaces where they felt included and appreciated their professors and peers who pushed back against the historical CS-world stereotypes. While the experience of each participant was unique, and there were some very negative experiences, all six participants reported having mostly positive experience in their undergraduate programs

Teaching introductory game development with unreal engine: Challenges, strategies, and experiences

From the days of Pong to 100 million dollar projects such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise, video games have evolved significantly over the years. This evolution has also changed the way game development is viewed as a career. Today, video games are one of the most profitable forms of entertainment, and game development courses are appearing at universities around the world. Even with this growth, a degree from a university has yet to be an important factor in finding a job in game development (Owen, 2013). This thesis examines a method of creating and implementing an introductory gaming course and recommends ways to improve the curriculum. ^ The main focus of the course was to introduce game development to the students. Each week, they were given an exercise that covered a different topic. Students also took part in a team project in which they were tasked with creating a complete game. The goal of the team projects was to expand the student\u27s basic knowledge given to them from the exercises. Data was gathered on the students\u27 subjective experiences with the class. This data and the class\u27s overall performance were compared with past iterations of the course. New to the course was the Unreal Engine. Students used the latest version of the engine, Unreal Engine 4, to complete exercises. Not all students chose to use this engine for the team project. Instructor and students experiences with the engine were also recorded. While there were some problems implementing the engine within our lab environment, we were still able to execute the overall lesson plan. Even with the engine issues, the course had overall good performance. CGT 241, Introduction to 3D Animation, was shown to help the students to complete the course while CGT 215, Computer Graphics Programming I, did not provide enough information on game programming. Exercises were found to be helpful but students wanted a better understanding of how these skills can be applied to game development. Team projects also went well with most teams creating a functional project. Students wanted more time to complete projects along with a structured approach to the project. Confidence in game development and the Unreal Engine were not high but students were enthusiastic in continuing in the field of game development.Recommendations were made to the curriculum in order to fix some of the issues with the introductory course and help students find a career. In order to fix the gap between the programming course and the introductory game course, a video game programming course was recommended that focused on teaching students how code works with video game engines. An option to specialize was also recommended in order to see a higher level of understanding on game concepts and a higher level of quality of game projects. Changes to the higher courses were also made for a yearlong course where students would focus on a single project to publish. This would expand on the introductory course while also replicating the game development process

The Effects Of Applying Authentic Learning Strategies To Develop Computational Thinking Skills In Computer Literacy Students

This study attempts to determine if authentic learning strategies can be used to acquire knowledge of and increase motivation for computational thinking. Over 600 students enrolled in a computer literacy course participated in this study which involved completing a pretest, posttest and motivation survey. The students were divided into an experimental and control group based on class meeting day. The experimental group was given access to an authentic learning tool called COTHAULE. COTHAULE, which is an acronym that stands for Computational Thinking Authentic Learning Environment, is a website that was developed using a variety of technologies. The intellection behind COTHAULE was to take every-day experiences that could pertain to life in a college campus environment and merge them with computational thinking concepts and the learning objectives of a common computer literacy course. Examples of experiences were formed into five case studies each containing seven scenarios that read like a conversation taking place between students. The basic functionality of the tool was to load a video clip into the website for the student to watch for each scenario then present the student with an authentic learning activity and problem to solve. The authentic learning activities involved such topics as searching, sorting and filtering tables using software such as Microsoft Word and Excel and translating the activities into computational thinking concepts. A control group received a set of traditional textbook style online learning materials. A pretest and posttest was used to measure learning for each group. The study concluded that although there was a significant increase in learning between the pretest and posttest for both groups, there was no significant difference in learning by one group over the other group. The study also concluded that the motivation of the control group was significantly greater than the experimental group. There were some gaps in the COTHAULE tool as it compares to the expectations of an authentic learning environment and should be revisited. Improvements to the overall design of COTHAULE should also be considered

An influence model of the experience of learning programming

Learning to program is difficult for many students all over the world with programming courses often experiencing high failure and attrition rates. The teaching of programming is still considered a major challenge by educators. At the same time, programming is becoming a key skill required not only of IT graduates but also of students in other disciplines and is becoming more important to a wider range of people. Today’s university students also practice their learning in an extended learning environment that extends well beyond the classroom. There has been considerable research into the teaching of programming in the computing education field, with many studies focussing on content and delivery. More recently, researchers have recognised the need for a greater understanding of how students experience learning to program, from the student’s perspective. This study contributes to this growing body of knowledge by exploring, in depth, the wide range of influences on the student learning experience of programming. A qualitative study was conducted that interviewed 31 Information Systems students about their experiences in learning programming. The interview transcripts were analysed using a Grounded Theory methodology. A new theory of the Influences on the Student Learning Experience of Programming was developed from the analysis, which is more holistic and comprehensive than previous theories. The learning experience of programming involves a complex interaction of a wide range of influences. A major influence is the student’s Perceived Personal Relevance towards programming. Students who perceive that programming is relevant to their future career goals are far more motivated to learn it. Perceived Personal Relevance, together with Learning Trait and Skill Level describe the Learner Nature of the student, which influences their Learning Behaviours. The influences within Learning Behaviours include Core Learning Perspectives (Ownership of learning, Learning Task Intent and Problem solving Behaviours), Patterns of Collaboration and Patterns of Information Use. Patterns of Collaboration describe how students interact with and use their Personal Networks, and include four levels of dependency: One Way Dependent, Two Way Co-Dependent, Collaborative Independent and Solitary Independent. Patterns of Information Use describe the different ways students interact with and use their information sources. The theory includes Programming Learner Profiles, which encapsulate the relationships and influences between Learner Nature and Learning Behaviours. Each profile describes, in essence, the nature and behaviour of different types of students. Seven distinct Programming Learner Profiles were identified in the study: Reluctant Beginner, Willing Beginner, Keen Beginner, Budding Manager, Budding Practitioner, Budding Developer and Advanced Developer. This new theory gives educators a greater insight into what students are thinking and doing when learning to program and potential strategies that can improve learning outcomes

The Impact of Collaboration, Problem Solving, and Creativity on Computer Programming Education for Middle School Girls

Despite high scores and abilities, girls lose interest in science and math throughout middle school. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the computer science research field will grow 19% by 2026; however, only 18% of the bachelor’s degrees in computer science are earned by women in the United States (ComputerScience.org, 2021). New technology and inventions are being created without the benefit of more diverse perspectives and input from females. There is a need to engage girls and maintain their interest throughout middle school and beyond. Additional research needs to be conducted about the impact and best practices used during out-of-school time programs to encourage and motivate girls to stay engaged in STEM, including computer programming (Koch, 2014). This study investigated the relationship between middle school girls’ interest in computer programming and the opportunities to collaborate, solve problems, and use their creativity while participating in computer programming activities led by female role models during the 4-H Girls Tech Challenge, an informal education program. Research questions are the following: 1) In what ways did the 4-H Girls Tech Challenge experience, which included components of problem solving, collaboration, creativity and female role models, affect the attitudes of middle school girls towards computer programming? 2) To what extent did the 4-H Girls Tech Challenge experience affect the attitude of middle school girls towards potentially pursuing careers related to computer science and technology? Evidenced by other studies, experiences in which collaboration, problem solving, and creativity are present have been shown to increase knowledge about computer programming and engagement in STEM (Cooper & Heaverlo, 2013; Wu-Rorrer, 2019; Hayden et al., 2011). A qualitative study employing interviews with previous participants was utilized to determine how the components of collaboration, problem solving, and creativity of the 4-H Girls Tech Challenge affected the attitudes of middle school girls towards computer programming and careers in computer science. Educators will benefit from learning more about best practices that engage, motivate, and retain more girls in STEM. An increase in the number of women in the STEM workforce will maximize innovation, creativity, and competitiveness (Hill et al., 2010)