Promoting Algorithmic Thinking in an Introductory Programming Course

Sohail Iqbal Malik,Abdalla Eldow,Mohammed Waseem Ashfaque,Mohanaad Shakir

doi:10.3991/ijet.v14i01.9061

Abstract

Computer programming is considered as a difficult area of study for novices. One of the reasons is the main focus of the curriculum presented in an introductory programming (IP) course which emphasizes more on the programming knowledge (syntax and semantic) of the programming language. This study introduced a new teaching curriculum in the IP course which focuses on different skills required by the novices. We compared the IP course materials based on the traditional and new approaches against five categories. The result shows that the new approach encourages both the programming knowledge and problem solving strategies, and promotes deep learning. Furthermore, it discourages programming shortcut (Problem statement → Code), and support three-step approach (Problem statement → Solution Plans → Code) in solving a problem statement. The new approach also promotes algorithmic thinking in the IP course by paying equal attention on the problem solving strategies.

Highlights

The introductory programming course is considered as one of the difficult courses for novice programmers [1]
The teaching materials used in the introductory programming (IP) course focuses more on programming knowledge of the programming language
This study re-designed the IP teaching materials based on the four stages of the ADRI model

Summary

Introduction

The introductory programming course is considered as one of the difficult courses for novice programmers [1]. They have to focus on different skills, such as program comprehension, problem solving strategies, program design etc., at the same time. The traditional teaching approach used in the IP course focuses more on the syntax of the programming language [2]. This study evaluated the teaching materials of the IP course based on the traditional approach. To determine the impact of the new teaching approach, the teaching materials based on the traditional and new approaches were analyzed by the criteria proposed by [3]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion