Relationship between perceived problem-solving skills and academic performance of novice learners in introductory programming courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashok Kumar Veerasamy ◽  
Daryl D'Souza ◽  
Rolf Lindén ◽  
Mikko-Jussi Laakso
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Novice Learners ◽  
Introductory Programming Courses ◽  
Programming Courses

Creativity in CS1: A Literature Review

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Sadia Sharmin
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Computer Science Education ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
Introductory Programming Courses ◽  
Programming Courses

Computer science is a fast-growing field in today’s digitized age, and working in this industry often requires creativity and innovative thought. An issue within computer science education, however, is that large introductory programming courses often involve little opportunity for creative thinking within coursework. The undergraduate introductory programming course (CS1) is notorious for its poor student performance and retention rates across multiple institutions. Integrating opportunities for creative thinking may help combat this issue by adding a personal touch to course content, which could allow beginner CS students to better relate to the abstract world of programming. Research on the role of creativity in computer science education (CSE) is an interesting area with a lot of room for exploration due to the complexity of the phenomenon of creativity as well as the CSE research field being fairly new compared to some other education fields where this topic has been more closely explored. To contribute to this area of research, this article provides a literature review exploring the concept of creativity as relevant to computer science education and CS1 in particular. Based on the review of the literature, we conclude creativity is an essential component to computer science, and the type of creativity that computer science requires is in fact, a teachable skill through the use of various tools and strategies. These strategies include the integration of open-ended assignments, large collaborative projects, learning by teaching, multimedia projects, small creative computational exercises, game development projects, digitally produced art, robotics, digital story-telling, music manipulation, and project-based learning. Research on each of these strategies and their effects on student experiences within CS1 is discussed in this review. Last, six main components of creativity-enhancing activities are identified based on the studies about incorporating creativity into CS1. These components are as follows: Collaboration, Relevance, Autonomy, Ownership, Hands-On Learning, and Visual Feedback. The purpose of this article is to contribute to computer science educators’ understanding of how creativity is best understood in the context of computer science education and explore practical applications of creativity theory in CS1 classrooms. This is an important collection of information for restructuring aspects of future introductory programming courses in creative, innovative ways that benefit student learning.

scholarly journals Learners Programming Language a Helping System for Introductory Programming Courses

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-358
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shumail Naveed ◽  
Muhammad Sarim ◽  
Kamran Ahsan
Keyword(s):  
Programming Languages ◽  
Programming Language ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
Source Program ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
High Level ◽  
Novice Students ◽  
Introductory Programming Courses ◽  
Programming Courses

Programming is the core of computer science and due to this momentousness a special care is taken in designing the curriculum of programming courses. A substantial work has been conducted on the definition of programming courses, yet the introductory programming courses are still facing high attrition, low retention and lack of motivation. This paper introduced a tiny pre-programming language called LPL (Learners Programming Language) as a ZPL (Zeroth Programming Language) to illuminate novice students about elementary concepts of introductory programming before introducing the first imperative programming course. The overall objective and design philosophy of LPL is based on a hypothesis that the soft introduction of a simple and paradigm specific textual programming can increase the motivation level of novice students and reduce the congenital complexities and hardness of the first programming course and eventually improve the retention rate and may be fruitful in reducing the dropout/failure level. LPL also generates the equivalent high level programs from user source program and eventually very fruitful in understanding the syntax of introductory programming languages. To overcome the inherent complexities of unusual and rigid syntax of introductory programming languages, the LPL provide elementary programming concepts in the form of algorithmic and plain natural language based computational statements. The initial results obtained after the introduction of LPL are very encouraging in motivating novice students and improving the retention rate.

scholarly journals Helping to realize “computer science for all”: Student outcomes of self-pacing in introductory programming courses

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Lester
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Experimental Methodology ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Introductory Programming Courses ◽  
Programming Courses

Sparked by a series of national campaigns to increase interest in computer science, computer science departments are inundated with students who are interested in learning how to program. Despite the interest, introductory computer science course have relatively low completion rates (approximately 55% at Mason) and high rates of academic integrity violations. In response to this environment, the Computer Science department at Mason received an external grant to redesign their introductory programming courses to a self-paced, flipped format. Implementation began in Fall 2015 with a quasi-experimental methodology that tracks students from an experimental course and a control group (those who took more traditional introductory CS courses) over the course of the semester. Data collected includes grades on assignments, self-report surveys, and classroom observations.  The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a self-paced, flipped curricular design in an introductory experiential computer science course on the immediate (in course) completion.   In this short lightning talk, we will present data from student surveys and classroom observations identifying any difference across the control and experimental groups. Preliminary results identify a significant increase in student completion upwards of a 20% difference across the groups. In addition to increasing knowledge of the impact of self-paced courses on student retention and success in computer science, we offer an alternative method to collect data on classroom observations via the Real-time Observation Classroom Application (ROCA). ROCA allows for efficient data collection and comparison of specific pedagogies to student engagement measures.  

scholarly journals The Use of Critical Reading in Understanding Scientific Texts on Academic Performance and Problem-solving Skills

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-409
Author(s):  
Özlem Koray ◽  
◽  
Sercan Çetinkılıç ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Performance Level ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Critical Reading ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Science Performance

This study aimed to investigate the effect of critical reading (CR) practices in science courses on academic achievement, science performance level, and problem-solving skills. The experimental method and factorial design were used. The study was conducted with 102 seventh-grade students from a public school in Turkey during the 2014–2015 academic year. Experimental and control groups were formed. CR practices were followed in the experimental group and teaching practices appropriate to the curriculum were used in the control group. Data were collected with the “Multiple-Choice Academic Achievement Test” to determine the students’ academic level in the “Human and Environment Unit: The Science Performance Level Test” to determine their science performance level and the “Logical Thinking Group Test” to determine the level of their problem-solving skills. The variables of academic achievement and science performance levels were labeled “Academic Performance.” Independent samples two-way ANOVA was applied to analyze the data using SPSS 18.0 software. The results revealed that the students in the experimental group, who were taught science using CR practices, were significantly more successful than the students in the control group, whose teaching was appropriate to the current curriculum in terms of academic achievement, science performance level, and problem-solving skills. It is of critical importance to use such innovative practices, which combine various disciplines, to allow students to excel at reading, which is a basic skill, at all educational levels in order to raise contemporary and social individuals.

Experience Teaching Introductory Programming Courses

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-53
Author(s):  
Liguo Yu
Keyword(s):  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Team Working ◽  
Experience Teaching ◽  
Capstone Projects ◽  
High Level ◽  
Introductory Programming Courses ◽  
Programming Courses

This paper describes the teaching methods and teaching experiences of an instructor who has been teaching computer science freshmen for more than ten years. Problem-based learning has been used in introductory programming courses to enhance the quality of learning. The common problem in introductory programming courses is that instructors quite often focus mainly on programming language syntax and usage but ignore the real world applications of these language features. Accordingly, students are likely to find out that it is difficult to apply their programming skills on solving complex problems in their high level courses. Through introducing problem-based learning in introductory programming courses, students not only could obtain experience of dealing with complex problems, but also could practice other soft skills, such as team working skills, which could better prepare them for junior and senior level coursework and capstone projects. In addition, other philosophy issues related to teaching introductory courses are discussed and tentative solutions are presented.

scholarly journals Comparison of E-Learning, M-Learning and Game-based Learning in Programming Education – A Gendered Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (15) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Sohail Iqbal Malik ◽  
Mostafa Al-Emran ◽  
Roy Mathew ◽  
Ragad M Tawafak ◽  
Ghaliya Alfarsi
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Programming Education ◽  
E Learning

Learning to code is considered as a difficult and challenging task for a significant number of novice programmers in programming education. Novice programmers have to acquire different skills such as problem solving, program design, comprehension, and debugging at the same time. On the other hand, most introductory programming courses focus more on syntax of the programming language. In this study, we developed and introduced a ‘PROBSOL’ application in three different learning systems (E-learning, M-learning and Game-based learning) to enhance the problem solving skills of novice programmers in an introductory programming (IP) course. A survey was conducted with the IP students to determine their perception about all the three applications in the IP course. Gender differences were determined by comparing both female and male students’ responses for each question in the survey. The results of comparison show that male students were more satisfied with all the three applications compared to female students. Both female and male students perceived that all the three applications are user-friendly, enabled them to accomplish tasks more quickly, and enhanced their learning productivity. Overall, both male and female students appreciated all the three applications in the teaching and learning process of the IP course. This study implies that instructors can also use all the three applications as an additional teaching tool in the teaching and learning process of programming education.

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