Adaptation of Project-Oriented Problem-Based Framework for Teaching Computer Programming

Abstract

Emerging technologies in education in these recent years have constantly impacted teaching and learning. One of those emerging technologies for teaching nowadays is using robotics. In the field of engineering and technology, programming is one of the most vital and challenging skills to learn. Programming can be tough for novices especially for those who have not acquired any basic programming skills. Robots have been used in the past few years to support the teaching of programming. Researchers have found that students are more interested in programming through robots utilization in teaching compared to traditional teaching methods. Therefore, this study has proposed a way for teaching and learning of programming to be more effective through adapting an existing Project-Oriented Problem-Based Learning (POPBL) framework. Most research works in the past have only implemented the teaching of programming using robotics through a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) framework without considering a systematic PBL framework. Thus, this work aims to study the effectiveness of using a mobile robot known as ‘RoboKar’ as a tool to support the learning of introductory programming by adapting an existing POPBL framework. The effectiveness of the adapted framework was assessed by evaluating three categories of learning comprising analytical and problem solving, learner's knowledge, as well as, collaborative learning. Our study results showed that by adapting a POPBL framework, students can acquire a better understanding in learning introductory programming concepts.