A Melding of Educational Strategies to Enhance the Introductory Programming Course

Abstract

The University of South Alabama has for an extended period of time been committed to improving the introductory programming course for Computer Science. These efforts and their results have been supported by the National Science Foundation, assessed by numerous instruments, and have been disseminated in papers, workshops, and conference sessions. Specific topics of this dissemination have included the integration of lecture and laboratory experiences, the use of motivational strategies and affective objectives, student achievement and retention, the early use of professional practices in the curriculum, the development of student affect during the introductory course, the enhancement of laboratory experiences, the application of various learning theories in the classroom, and curriculum design. In contrast to these prior works which each focused on just a few specific issues, the purpose of this paper is to holistically discuss the set of effective strategies used in our introductory programming course and show how these diverse efforts can be melded together and jointly enhance and enliven the course. This set of strategies includes the integration of cognitive and affective course objectives; the use of concept maps and other visual instructional techniques and tools; the use of motivational strategies such as classroom discussion and student self-reflection; the integration of conceptual development and hands-on exercises in the classroom; the designing of course progress to match the students' zone of proximal development; the designing of course delivery methodologies to match the diversity of students' interests and learning styles; the inclusion of diverse strategies to integrate the real world into every component of the course; the strategic use of student surveys; and the integration of professional practices and student commitments to quality. A marked, consistent, and significant increase in student course completion rates has accompanied our implementation of these strategies