Introductory Programming Language Research Articles

Assessing the Effect of Programming Language and Task Type On Eye Movements of Computer Science Students

Background and Context: Understanding how a student programmer solves different task types in different programming languages is essential to understanding how we can further improve teaching tools to support students to be industry-ready when they graduate. It also provides insight into students’ thought processes in different task types and languages. Few (if any) studies investigate whether any differences exist between the reading and navigation behavior while completing different types of tasks in different programming languages. Objectives: We investigate whether the use of a certain programming language (C++ vs. Python) and type of task (new feature vs. bug fixing) has an impact on performance and eye movement behavior in students exposed to both languages and task types. Participants: Fourteen students were recruited from a Python course that taught Python as an introductory programming language. Study Method: An eye tracker was used to track how student programmers navigate and view source code in different programming languages for different types of tasks. The students worked in the Geany IDE (used also in their course) while eye tracking data was collected behind the scenes making their working environment realistic compared to prior studies. Each task type had a Python and C++ version, albeit on different problems to avoid learning effects. Standard eye tracking metrics of fixation count and fixation durations were calculated on various areas of the screen and on source code lines. Normalized versions of these metrics were used to compare across languages and tasks. Findings: We found that the participants had significantly longer average fixation duration and total fixation duration adjusted for source code length during bug fixing tasks than the feature addition tasks, indicating bug fixing is harder. Furthermore, participants looked at lines adjacent to the line containing the bug more often before looking at the buggy line itself. Participants who added a new feature correctly made their first edit earlier compared to those who failed to add the feature. Tasks in Python and C++ have similar overall fixation duration and counts when adjusted for character count. The participants spent more time fixating on the console output while doing Python tasks. Overall, task type has a bigger effect on the overall fixation duration and count compared to the programming language. Conclusions: CS educators can better support students in debugging their code if they know what they typically look at while bug fixing. For new feature tasks, training students not to fear edits to learn about the code could also be actively taught and encouraged in the classroom. CS education researchers can benefit by building better IDE plugins and tools based on eye movements that guide novices in recognizing bugs and aid in adding features. These results will lead to updating prior theories on mental models in program comprehension of how developers read and understand source code. They will eventually help in designing better programming languages and better methods of teaching programming based on evidence on how developers use them.

An Object Tuple Model for Understanding Pointer and Array in C Language

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Contribution:</i> In this study, an object tuple model has been proposed, and a quasi-experimental study on its usage in an introductory programming language course has been reported. This work can be adopted by all C language teachers and students in learning pointer and array-related concepts. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Background:</i> C language has been extensively employed in numerous universities as an introductory programming practice. However, the pointer and array have long been recognized as some of the most difficult concepts for novice students learning C language. To help students become familiar with the concept of pointer and array and also their related operations, a comprehensive understanding from memory management’s perspective might be helpful. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Research Questions:</i> 1) How does the object tuple model help students understand all kinds of object types from a generalized perspective? 2) Why is it important to let the students consider multiple arrays from a 1-D perspective? and 3) How do the memory-oriented operations from the object’s perspective help students comprehensively understand the pointer and array? <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Methodology:</i> The students were divided into experimental and control groups, and the object tuple model was presented in the experimental group. An examination was conducted at end of the semester, and test data were gathered for further analysis. <p xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <i>Findings:</i> The proposed object tuple model is effective in giving students clear guidance and helping them further understand the pointer and array in C language.

Significance of the Leading Programming Languages

In today's technology era, programming is more essential than ever. Python and C++ are the most widely used programming languages. Python, the most popular programming language of the twenty-first century, is a higher-level object-oriented language, while C++ (the language that powers most operating systems) is a lowerlevel object-oriented language. Python and C++ are compared in this article. This book covers an introduction to various languages, memory management techniques, and reasons for their program execution speed. Furthermore, this study looked at the execution time and memory requirements of a variety of algorithms in both languages, comparing the best, average, and worst situations in each language. Furthermore, they are compared in terms of their benefits and drawbacks. C++ is faster than Python in terms of execution speed, according to the findings, but Python is a better option for beginners due to its simplicity. Aside from that, the language should be selected depending on the project type in order to get the best results. Programmers play a crucial role in computing. C/C++, Python, and Java are the most common languages. Beginning programming classes often utilize C++ and Java. Python has grown in popularity as an introductory programming language due to a variety of reasons. As an entry-level programming language, C, C++, Java, and Python were compared. More students selected Python over C++ because of its simpler pseudo-code syntax, better learning environment, and greater abstraction.

A Systematic Mapping of Introductory Programming Languages for Novice Learners

Delivery of core programming principles to novices is a challenging task and many introductory programming languages and platforms have been designed to support this process. Educational programming languages generally focus on alleviating the syntax overhead enforced on novice learners by designing languages with simple and concise keywords. Furthermore, only the most basic programming concepts and principles are incorporated and many languages follow unique methods to provide more simplified learning environments. However, considering the way programs are authored using these platforms, two common contrasting approaches to program representation are identified as text-based and block-based representations. Additionally, a hybrid approach of dual-modality interfaces, which combines the best of both techniques has gained traction as a current trend in the development of educational programming platforms. However, despite these extensive features, not all introductory programming languages can cater to the exact requirements of novice learners and a dearth of comprehensive studies and literature reviews have been conducted to investigate this context. This paper explores and presents a comprehensive review of how different elements of educational programming languages and platforms contribute towards learning by novices under the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The review is conducted under two main constructs of TAM as (1) Perceived Usefulness (PU) and (2) Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and external factors regarding the programming environment, language design, included programming concepts and supporting features such as the target audience group, language extensibility, and availability of learning materials are thoroughly investigated considering the typical behavioral patterns of novices concerning computer programming education.

Traditional implementing usage of core programming languages in the object oriented programming

In today's technology era, programming is more essential than ever. Python and C++ are the most widely used programming languages. Python, the most popular programming language of the twenty-first century, is a higher-level object-oriented language, while C++ (the language that powers most operating systems) is a lower-level object-oriented language. Python and C++ are compared in this article. This book covers an introduction to various languages, memory management techniques, and reasons for their program execution speed. Furthermore, this study looked at the execution time and memory requirements of a variety of algorithms in both languages, comparing the best, average, and worst situations in each language. Furthermore, they are compared in terms of their benefits and drawbacks. C++ is faster than Python in terms of execution speed, according to the findings, but Python is a better option for beginners due to its simplicity. Aside from that, the language should be selected depending on the project type in order to get the best results. Programmers play a crucial role in computing. C/C++, Python, and Java are the most common languages. Beginning programming classes often utilize C++ and Java. Python has grown in popularity as an introductory programming language due to a variety of reasons. As an entry-level programming language, C, C++, Java, and Python were compared. More students selected Python over C++ because of its better pseudo-code syntax, simpler learning environment, and greated abstraction.

Implementation of CFG Based Natural Language Framework in Description of Syntax Errors in Imperative First Programming Languages: A Case Study from University of Baluchistan

The purpose of this research is to study usefulness and impact of natural language framework for description of error messages on the performance, motivation, cognitive load of novices in imperative first programming language like C. This study is about investigating the impact of error messages description in natural language on debugging skill of students. It is used as a teaching tool in introductory programming language. In this research a framework based on natural language was constructed based on context free grammar (CFG) underpinning human computer interaction (HCI) to facilitate debugging of errors. This paper reports that using natural language to describe error messages decrease debugging time. We concluded that novices using this framework performed better with good understanding of static error handling, error correction with fewer number of errors. This framework has appreciable effect on learning outcomes of the students. The results of study reflect the time spent to debug and correct error was reduced as a result performance, motivation of the students increased and had impact on the cognitive load of students.

Creation of CFG Based Natural Language Framework for Explication of Syntax Errors in First Programming Language Featuring Novices

The intention of this research is to investigate effectiveness and impact of NLF for error messages on the performance, motivation, cognitive load of novices in FPL like C. This study analyzed the effectiveness of enhanced error messages in natural language on debugging .it is used as a teaching tool in introductory programming language. This research focus on use of natural language framework to illustrate errors, suggest proper solution thus ensures that usability of error messages effectively to facilitate debugging. This paper reports that self-directed static error resolution and illustration using natural language, enhanced understanding of static errors and decreased debugging time. CFG based NLF ensemble natural language description underpinning HCI approach in IDE for resolution of errors. We inferred that novices using NLF performed better in programming with good understanding of static error handling, error resolution ,NLF has valuable impression on novice learning outcomes The results of study indicate error messages in natural language augmented static error debugging time which has considerable impact on performance, motivation, cognitive load of novices.

End-User Software Development: Effectiveness of a Software Engineering-Centric Instructional Strategy

Aim/Purpose: This work aims to introduce and evaluate an instructional strategy that aids end-users with developing their software products during intensive project-based events. Background: End-users produce software in the labor market, and one of the challenges for End-User Software Engineering (EUSE) is the need to create functional software products without a formal education in software development. Methodology: In this work, we present an instructional strategy to expose end-users to Agile-based Software Engineering (SE) practices and enhance their ability to developing high-quality software. Moreover, we introduce a SE approach for the collection of metrics to assess the effectiveness of the instructional strategy. We conducted two case studies to validate the effectiveness of our strategy; the comprehensive analysis of the outcome products evaluates the strategy and demonstrates how to interpret the collected metrics. Contribution: This work contributes to the research and practitioner body of knowledge by leveraging SE centric concepts to design an instructional strategy to lay the foundations of SE competencies in inexperienced developers. This work presents an instructional strategy to develop SE competencies through an intensive and time-bound structure that may be replicated. Moreover, the present work introduces a framework to evaluate these competencies from a product-centric approach, specialized for non-professional individuals. Finally, the framework contributes to understanding how to assess software quality when the software product is written in non-conventional, introductory programming languages. Findings: The results show the effectiveness of our instructional strategy: teams were successful in constructing a working software product. However, participants did not display a good command of source code order and structure. Recommendations for Practitioners: Our instructional strategy provides practitioners with a framework to lay foundations in SE competencies during intensive project-based events. Based on the results of our case studies, we provide a set of recommendations for educational practice. Recommendation for Researchers: We propose an assessment framework to analyze the effectiveness of the instructional strategy from a SE perspective. This analysis provides an overall picture of the participants’ performance; other researchers could use our framework to evaluate the effectiveness of their activities, which would contribute to increasing the possibility of comparing the effectiveness of different instructional strategies. Impact on Society: Given the number of end-user developers who create software products without a formal SE training, several professional and educational contexts can benefit from our proposed instructional strategy and assessment framework. Future Research: Further research can focus on improving the assessment framework by including both process and product metrics to shed light on the effectiveness of the instructional strategies.

If You Can Program, You Can Write: Learning Introductory Programming Across Literacy Levels

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents findings on a curricular intervention aimed at integrating computer programming with reading and writing in early elementary school. The purpose of this research was to explore the relation between students’ varying literacy levels and their level of success in mastering an introductory programming language. Methodology: This curricular intervention study was implemented in a single school district in southeastern Virginia. Of the district’s 33 elementary schools, eight schools received an external grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to introduce computer science in early elementary education. Standardized literacy test scores were correlated with internally developed, and age appropriate programming assessment scores from N = 132 second grade students. Contribution: This study is the first of its kind to look at how students at varying literacy levels succeed in mastering an introductory programming language when introduced through a literacy lens. Findings: The findings indicated that there was strong evidence for a weak, positive correlation between students’ literacy levels, as determined by the PALS assessment, and their programming mastery, as determined by the curricular programming assessments. The positive correlation suggests that there may indeed be underlying constructs that overlap between literacy and programming. Recommendations for Practitioners: Consider integrating computer programming as a foundational component of the literacy curriculum, especially in the early grades, where the two skill sets can mutually support one another. Recommendation for Researchers: Additional research is necessary, using a variety of literacy and programming measures, to continue to understand the relationship between emerging literacy and emerging computer programming skills. Impact on Society: Reimagining computer programming as a language has significant implications for how we teach programming in schools and how students then use programming out in the workforce. Future Research: Future work will repeat this curricular intervention with younger students: the district’s first grade and kindergarten classrooms. Introducing programming through the Coding as Literacy (CAL) approach even earlier in students’ literacy trajectories, we believe, will allow the positive impact of programming knowledge to influence students’ literacy development. In this next phase of our research agenda, we will collect pre and post literacy scores, both standardized and internally developed, to see the myriad ways that programming knowledge impacts literacy.

Computer Science Education in Early Childhood: The Case of ScratchJr

Aim/Purpose: This paper aims to explore whether having state Computer Science standards in place will increase young children’s exposure to coding and powerful ideas from computer science in the early years. Background: Computer science education in the K-2 educational segment is receiving a growing amount of attention as national and state educational frameworks are emerging. By focusing on the app ScratchJr, the most popular free introductory block-based programming language for early childhood, this paper explores if there is a relationship between the presence of state frameworks and ScratchJr’s frequency of use. Methodology: This paper analyzes quantitative non-identifying data from Google Analytics on users of the ScratchJr programming app. Google Analytics is a free tool that allows access to user activity as it happens in real time on the app, as well as audience demographics and behavior. An analysis of trends by state, time of year, type of in-app activities completed, and more are analyzed with a specific focus on comparing states with K-12 Computer Science in place versus those without. Contribution: Results demonstrate the importance of having state standards in place to increase young children’s exposure to coding and powerful ideas from computer science in the early years. Moreover, we see preliminary evidence that states with Computer Science standards in place support skills like perseverance and debugging through ScratchJr. Findings: Findings show that in the case of ScratchJr, app usage decreases during the summer months and on weekends, which may indicate that coding with ScratchJr is more often happening in school than at home. Results also show that states with Computer Science standards have more ScratchJr users on average and have more total sessions with the app on average. Results also show preliminary evidence that states with Computer Science standards in place have longer average session duration as well as a higher average number of users returning to edit an existing project. Recommendations for Practitioners: Successful early childhood computer science education programs must teach powerful ideas from the discipline of computer science in a developmentally appropriate way, provide means for self-expression, prompt debugging and problem solving, and offer a low-floor/high-ceiling interface for both novices and experts. Practitioners should be aware in drops in computer science learning during the summer months when school is not in session. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should consider the impact of state and national frameworks on computer science learning and skills mastered during the early childhood years. Researchers should look for ways to continue engaging students in computer science education during times when school is not in session. Impact on Society: Results demonstrate the importance of having state CS standards in place to increase young children’s exposure to coding and powerful ideas from computer science in the early years. Moreover, we see preliminary evidence that states with Computer Science standards in place support skills like perseverance and debugging through ScratchJr. Future Research: Future research should continue collecting Google Analytics from the ScratchJr app and track changes in usage. Future research should also collect analytics from a wide range of programming applications for young children to see if the trends identified here are consistent across different apps.

Evaluating a course for teaching introductory programming with Scratch to pre-service kindergarten teachers

A growing number of countries, in Europe and beyond have established clear policies and frameworks for introducing Computational Thinking and computer programming to young children. Researchers, educators, and key stakeholders believe that these skills should be taught and used in early childhood classrooms to initiate the cognitive development of students at an earlier age. The introduction of CT in the curriculum is creating a strong demand for pre-service development, as many teachers did not learn about CT and computer programming in their initial education. In response to this identified need, new initiatives in Universities are underway seeking to bring CT and programming into pre-service teachers' education around the world. We adopted Scratch as the introductory programming language for a semester course in the department of Preschool Education in the University of Crete. The aim of using Scratch was to excite students' interest and familiarise them with the basics of programming. For 13 weeks, students were introduced to the main Scratch concepts and, afterwards, were asked to prepare their projects. For the projects, they were required to develop a game to teach certain concepts about Mathematics or Physical Science and/or present an Aesop myth to preschool age students. The results we obtained were more satisfactory than expected and, in some regards, encouraging.

Coding and Computational Thinking in Early Childhood: The Impact of ScratchJr in Europe

In recent years, there has been an increased effort to introduce coding and computational thinking in early childhood education. In accordance with the international trend, programming has become an increasingly growing focus in European education. With over 9.5 million iOS downloads, ScratchJr is the most popular freely available introductory programming language for young children (ages 5-7). This paper provides an overview of ScratchJr, and the powerful ideas from computer science it is designed to teach. In addition, data analytics are presented to show trends of usage in Europe and and how it compares to the rest of the world. Data reveals that countries with robust computer science initiatives such as the UK and the Nordic countries have high usage of ScratchJr.

Learners Programming Language a Helping System for Introductory 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.

Lessons Learned from Teaching Scratch as an Introduction to Object-oriented Programming in Delphi

As part of curriculum changes in South Africa, an introductory programming language, Scratch, must first be taught before switching to the well-established teaching of Delphi. The nature of programming in Scratch is considerably different from that in Delphi. It was assumed that the teaching of Scratch as introductory programming language could support learners’ understanding of Delphi. Teachers did not receive much training in Scratch. This study explores teachers’ experiences of their first year of the teaching of Scratch. The purpose of the research was to understand how Scratch can be used effectively as a transitioning language to Delphi and to deduce guidelines for teaching Scratch as introduction to object-oriented programming in Delphi. A qualitative research method, within the interpretive paradigm, was selected for this research. Interviews were done with eight randomly selected Information Technology (IT) teachers in the province of North-West, South Africa to gain insight into their experiences of teaching Scratch in 2012, the first year of implementing the new curriculum. Findings show that teachers were uncertain how to teach programming concepts and how to integrate problem solving and algorithm design into teaching Scratch. The focus of teaching was on Scratch, instead of on teaching programming concepts with Scratch. Emerging guidelines emphasise the integration of problem solving and algorithm design; the creation of opportunities to expose learners to error handling and program testing; and the inculcatation of programming concepts. We furthermore recommend active teaching-learning strategies such as pair programming.

The Impact of Different Teaching Approaches and Languages on Student Learning of Introductory Programming Concepts

Learning to program, especially in the object-oriented paradigm, is a difficult undertaking for many students. As a result, computing educators have tried a variety of instructional methods to assist beginning programmers. These include developing approaches geared specifically toward novices and experimenting with different introductory programming languages. However, determining the effectiveness of these interventions poses a problem. The research presented here developed an instrument to assess student learning of fundamental and object-oriented programming concepts, then used that instrument to investigate the impact of different teaching approaches and languages on university students’ ability to learn those concepts. Extensive data analysis showed that the instrument performed well overall. Reliability of the assessment tool was statistically satisfactory and content validity was supported by intrinsic characteristics, question response analysis, and expert review. Preliminary support for construct validity was provided through exploratory factor analysis. Three components that at least partly represented the construct “understanding of fundamental programming concepts” were identified: methods and functions, mathematical and logical expressions, and control structures. Analysis revealed significant differences in student performance based on instructional language and approach. The analyses showed differences on the overall score and questions involving assignment, mathematical and logical expressions, and code completion. Instructional language and approach did not appear to affect student performance on questions addressing object-oriented concepts.

Constructing the ScratchJr programming language in the early childhood classroom

This paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on children and computer programming by focusing on a programming language for children in Kindergarten through second grade. Sixty-two students were exposed to a 6-week curriculum using ScartchJr. They learned foundational programming concepts and applied those concepts to create personally meaningful projects using the ScratchJr programming app. This paper addresses the following research question: Which ScratchJr programming blocks do young children choose to use in their own projects after they have learned them all through a tailored programming curriculum? Data was collected in the form of the students’ combined 977 projects, and analyzed for patterns and differences across grades. This paper summarizes findings and suggests potential directions for future research. Implications for the use of ScratchJr as an introductory programming language for young children are also discussed.

Situating Programming Abstractions in a Constructionist Video Game

Research on the effectiveness of introductory programming environments often relies on post-test measures and attitudinal surveys to support its claims; but such instruments lack the ability to identify any explanatory mechanisms that can account for the results. This paper reports on a study designed to address this issue. Using Noss and Hoyles' constructs of webbing and situated abstractions, we analyze programming novices playing a program-to-play constructionist video game to identify how features of introductory programming languages, the environments in which they are situated, and the challenges learners work to accomplish, collectively affect novices' emerging understanding of programming concepts. Our analysis shows that novices develop the ability to use programming concepts by building on the suite of resources provided as they interact with the computational context of the learning environment. In taking this approach, we contribute to computer science education design literature by advancing our understanding of the relationship between rich, complex introductory programming environments and the learning experiences they promote.

Teaching an Introductory Programming Language in a General Education Course

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Reducing the dropout rate in an introductory programming course

This article describes an action research for reducing the high students' dropout rate after an introductory programming course. As part of the action research, that was performed during four semesters several course structures and learning tactics were examined. The success was attributed to three main factors. (1) using Python as the first introductory programming language, which freed the students from detailed language syntax and allowed them to concentrate on algorithms and problem solving; (2) using a visualization environment (Micro-world) for the whole duration of the course, which helped in understanding the more complex and abstract issues; and (3) using individual assignments that enforced better learning habits. The article describes the various attempts, as well as the final structure that reduced the failing students by over 77%.

Enhancement of student learning performance using personalized diagnosis and remedial learning system

Although conventional student assessments are extremely convenient for calculating student scores, they do not conceptualize how students organize their knowledge. Therefore, teachers and students rarely understand how to improve their future learning progress. The limitations of conventional testing methods indicate the importance of accurately assessing and representing student knowledge structures. The personalized diagnosis and remedial learning system (PDRLS) proposed in this study enhances the effectiveness of the Pathfinder network by providing remedial learning paths for individual learners based on their knowledge structure. The sample was 145 students enrolled in introductory JAVA programming language courses at a Central Taiwan technology university. The experimental results demonstrate that learners who received personalized remedial learning guidance via PDRLS achieved improved learning performance, self-efficacy, and PDRLS use intention. The experimental results also indicated that students with lower knowledge level gain more benefits from the PDRLS than those with higher level of knowledge and that field dependence (FD) students obtain a greater benefit from PDRLS than field independence (FI) students do.