Programming Language Course Research Articles

Mediating Effects of Students’ Study Time on ICT Resource Availability, Teacher Competence and Academic Performance in Programming Languages

This study investigated the mediating role of students' study time in the relationships between the availability of ICT (information and communication technology) resources, teacher competence, and academic performance in programming language courses. The researchers used a sample of 287 undergraduate students and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the hypothesized mediating effects. The findings showed that both ICT resource availability and teacher competence had positive and significant indirect effects on academic performance, which were partially mediated by the amount of time students spent studying. Specifically, the indirect effect of ICT resource availability on academic performance through study time was 0.159 (p < 0.001), and the indirect effect of teacher competence on academic performance through study time was 0.195 (p < 0.001). These results suggest that while ICT resources and teacher competence directly contribute to improved academic performance in programming languages, they also indirectly influence performance by promoting increased study time among students. The mediating role of study time highlights the importance of creating an environment that supports and encourages students to engage in self-directed learning activities, in addition to providing adequate technological resources and competent teaching. The findings have important implications for educational practitioners and policymakers, as they emphasize the need to adopt a holistic approach to enhancing student learning outcomes in programming courses by understanding the complex interplay between various factors and their indirect effects.

Exploration of Teaching Reform in C Language Programming Course under the Background of New Engineering

Exploration of Teaching Reform in C Language Programming Course under the Background of New Engineering

The Design and Practice of a Multi-solution Teaching Strategy: Taking the C Language Programming Course as an Example

This paper explores one problem with multiple solutions teaching strategy applied to the integration of theory and practice teaching courses in C language programming course. According to the cognitive characteristics of students for the same problem combined with the specific learning situation of higher vocational colleges, the course has adopted the three methods of basic flow control statement, switch statement, and array. Showing the methods and skills to solve the problem from different angles with the gradual implementation of the specific teaching helps students deepen their understanding of C language knowledge. It also guides students to use knowledge to solve practical problems, to achieve the teaching goals.

Research on The Mixed Teaching Mode of Python Language Programming Course

With the development of the Internet era, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and other fields of innovation and change, Python has become the most popular programming tool in the digital field because of its simple grammar and convenience for students to learn. It is also one of the important skills that college computer science students need to master in the face of market demand changes. The degree of mastery of the Python language programming course directly affects students’ ability to use computers to analyze and solve problems To improve the teaching effectiveness of the “Python Language Programming” course, this paper mainly explores the integrated and blended teaching mode of said course.

Exploring the effects of SPOC-based blended learning on students’ learning performance at higher vocational education

ABSTRACT Higher vocational education has been on a trajectory of rapid development. However, the challenge of fostering effective learning in students persists. In response to this, a study was undertaken to explore the impact of an optimized model of SPOC-based blended learning (SPOC-BL) on student presence, learning satisfaction, learning motivation, and academic performance in C language programming course. This quasi-experimental study spanned a period of three months and involved 92 students from two classes in a higher vocational school. Quantitative research methods were employed to analyze students’ academic performance and their interrelationship among student presence, learning satisfaction, learning motivation in SPOC-BL approach. Analysis of Covariance, paired samples t-tests, and multiple regression analysis were conducted to analyze students’ performance on achievement tests and student surveys. The results showed substantial improvements in student presence, learning motivation, learning satisfaction, and academic achievement as direct outcomes of the innovative instructional approach. The findings illuminated significant effects for all factors, with student presence exerting the most significant influence, followed closely by learning motivation, and with learning satisfaction playing a smaller yet still meaningful role. The study will inform the design and implementation of blended learning in higher vocational education.

Research and Exploration on CDIO-based Experimental Teaching of C Language Programming

Under the background of new engineering science, in order to play the role of local universities in supporting the regional economic development and industrial transformation and upgrading, the experimental teaching of C language programming faces new challenges and opportunities, and further reforms should be promoted in order to meet the needs of cultivating composite engineering talents. Aiming at the current C language programming course experimental teaching cases with low level differentiation, insufficient fun and low comprehensiveness, we designed a series of experimental cases with certain level differentiation, increased the fun of the cases, and designed a comprehensive experimental teaching case of breaking through barriers. The design concept and realization scheme of the case are studied and explored in detail. This research practice is guided by the concept of CDIO, effectively combine theoretical knowledge and programming practice, so as to improve students' practical ability and cultivate their computational thinking and innovative thinking ability.

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.

Pre-Evaluation with a Personalized Feedback Conversational Agent Integrated in Moodle

Pre-evaluation of the learner's level is a common learning strategy designed to determine the prior knowledge and skills of learners. A pre-evaluation is carried out at the beginning of the course and based on the results obtained, personalized resources will be provided that respond to individual learner needs. This paper presents a pre-evaluation for a C programming language course by providing, at the end of the quiz, a personalized formative feedback and recommendation to the learners. We have developed our conversational chatbot named QuizCbot, which allows learners to go directly to the parts where they need the most help through the personalized feedback provided to them, including their final scores, the questions they answered correctly and the questions they answered incorrectly with the correct answer and explanation. Hence, the chatbot makes a recommendation on the concepts in which the learner did not obtain the average, identifying the concepts not mastered where the learner needs more (or less) support. Determining what learners know and don't know can help to improve the learning experience. We have integrated our QuizCbot chatbot, which is based on Natural Language Understanding (NLU), into the Moodle learning environment.

The Learning Module Uses FASTER Learning Model in C Programming Language Courses

The low ability of students in the C Programming Language course is due to the need for more use of models and media that suit student needs. This research aims to test the validity and practicality of the learning modules of the two model books: the lecturer's guidebook and the module book &amp; student guide. This research belongs to the type of development research that was developed using the ADDIE model. Data collection used a questionnaire method and interviews with research instruments in the form of validity and practicality test instruments—data analysis techniques using qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis. The data from the research analysis showed that the results of the expert assessment obtained an average value of 0.90 in the Valid category. Lecturer manual and the average value of 0.87. Module book &amp; student guide with Valid category. The practicality of the lecturer's guidebook produces an average value of 90.09 (Very Practical). Practical module books &amp; student guides produce an average value of 91.20 (Very Practical). It was concluded that the FASTER model is suitable for learning the C Programming Language, and the modules used are very easy to use and help in the learning process.

Discussion on the Teaching Reform of Python Language Programming Course for Engineering Majors Based on OBE

Python has a simple language structure and is free and open source. Therefore, more and more colleges and universities set it as a required course of engineering programming language. By analyzing the advantages of python language teaching, and based on the concept of Outcome-based Education (OBE), this paper puts forward the teaching reform idea of python language programming public course in ordinary colleges and universities.

Evaluating Kindergarten Parents’ Acceptance of Unplugged Programming Language Courses: An Extension of Theory of Planned Behavior

The changing economic environment in Taiwan has led to an increase in the structure of double-income families. To compensate for the lack of time to take care of their children and the regret of their learning process, parents will send their children to kindergarten early. Parents choose to expose their children to better education and learning models because they do not want their children to get behind at the starting point. The newly introduced unplugged programming language curriculum can develop children’s logical and computational thinking skills to face future learning and employment skills in information and communications technology-related industries. The purpose of this study is to examine the parental acceptance of unplugged programming language courses and to analyze the relationship between the variables in the study framework to understand influencing factors. The theoretical basis of the study is the planned behavior theory. This study replaces behavioral intention with parents’ acceptance and establishes a basic framework of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. The study framework is established by combining the factors of expectation and compensation as antecedent variables of attitude. An online e-questionnaire is distributed to parents of children aged 5–6 years old in Taiwan to collect data. The structural equation model is conducted on 489 data points. Results of the study reveal that expectation and compensation have a significant effect on attitude. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control have a significant positive effect on family acceptance of unplugged programming language. Furthermore, the expectation and compensation psychology affect the parental acceptance of unplugged language programs through attitude. Finally, practical applications and future research directions regarding the promotion of unplugged programming language for young children are provided.

Research on Construction and Practice of Precision Teaching Classroom for University Programming Courses

Facing the challenges of programming courses teaching in university, this study constructs a precision teaching classroom for programming courses that integrates precision teaching theory. Firstly, this paper analyzes the realization conditions for precision teaching in programming courses, then designs the implementation process of precision teaching including three teaching phases and five teaching links, and finally carried out teaching practice in C Language Programming course. The practice results showed that in the precision programming teaching classroom, teacher-student interactions were more frequent and students had higher programming learning efficiency than in ordinary programming teaching classroom. Compared with the control class, students in the experimental class were more capable of grasping programming knowledge and had better programming problem-solving abilities, and most of them were highly satisfied with teaching design of precision teaching classroom for C Language Programming. Precision programming teaching classroom constructed by this research provides a more optimized and effective teaching method for university programming teaching. On the other hand, this study provides a practical case for the integration and application of precision teaching theory and university curriculum teaching.

Research on Higher Vocational Teaching Mode Based on Competitive Mechanism

How to arouse students’ interest in learning so as to improve the quality of teaching has always been an important subject for higher vocational education. Practice has proved that the competition method proposed in this study is an effective way to arouse student’s learning interest. Taking programming language courses as an example, it is proposed to introduce a competition mechanism in the teaching process, practicing follow teaching, and by treating each practicing topic as a competition, record the results according to the completion speed and quality, and rank them. For the top-ranked students, points will be added according to certain rules. Collecting personal grades for each class as a process evaluation which is an important part of students’ grade. By introducing the competition mechanism, students’ interest in learning can be greatly stimulated and the quality of teaching can be greatly improved.

Research on the Teaching Reform of Java Language Programming Course Based on Combination of courses and competitions

In order to stimulate the students' enthusiasm for continuous learning of the Java language and improve their practical ability, this paper combines the "Blue Bridge Cup" software competition to reform the teaching of the Java language programming course through the integration of course and competition.The practice shows that ”combination of course and competition” can significantly improve the teaching effect and is of great benefit to the cultivation of applied talents in applied undergraduate colleges.

AN INTELLIGENT TUTORING SYSTEM TO MAINTAIN THE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION

Abstract. Recently, many educational institutions around the world has transformed to online education specially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This fast and in many cases unplanned transformation leads to the needs for more researches to find solutions for the problems of this rapid transformation. As it's the best economic options during this pandemic, this study focused on creating a web-based (asynchronous system) intelligent tutoring system (ITS) to support the teachers in the C programming language course. Nonetheless, the suggested system takes into consideration one of the biggest challenges for asynchronous system which is how to maintain the students' motivation for the entire learning process. Therefore, the current study suggested the use of an interactive ITS as a solution for this challenge. The created system C-ITS used a set of motivational state rules and tactics to assess and maintain the motivation of the students. Finally, after using the system by the students and the teachers for two weeks, we conducted an evaluation study to evaluate the quality of the system design, the usability, the functionality, the compatibility. The result of the evaluation study showed that C-ITS system acceptable from both the students and the teachers.

Discussion on the Design of Ideological and Political Course and Online Teaching Scheme of Programming Language Course

The ideological and political teaching of programming language course has certain characteristics in content, process and form. The teaching goal takes moral cultivation as the fundamental task to lead knowledge learning and ability training. It requires to establish a correct three outlook, go together and form a synergistic effect. To implement the fundamental task of establishing morality and cultivating people, we must integrate value shaping, knowledge imparting and ability cultivation. For the construction of "ideological and political curriculum" of programming language project-based teaching, we should thoroughly clarify the teaching content of programming language courses, combine the characteristics of programming language courses, deeply tap the ideological and political elements of programming courses, reasonably and effectively integrate into the teaching of programming courses, so as to achieve the educational effect of moistening things silently.

Research on the Teaching Reform of "PHP Programming" Course based on Case-based Teaching

In the traditional teaching mode, there are problems that programming language courses tend to be theory-oriented and students face uneven programming foundations. Based on the problems that the course content is too theoretical and the students' programming foundation is different, the teaching reform research is carried out. Taking the course of "PHP Programming" as an example, this paper proposes a case-based teaching reform of "PHP Programming". This paper firstly analyzes the teaching status of "PHP Programming", then expounds the significance of the teaching reform of "PHP Programming" based on case-based teaching, and finally puts forward the teaching reform strategy of "PHP Programming" based on case-based teaching. Transmit more applied talents for the society.

Application of the Waterfall Method in Software Design on Android-Based Programming Language Course Applications

In this era of technology and information proliferating, programming skills are needed. Technology affects every area of life from industry, business, communication, transportation, health, and others. Everyone has the same opportunity to learn and master technology thus programming language courses are needed to provide education, innovation, and improvement of skills and abilities in the field of programming and data science to the public. Until now, programming language courses still use the conventional system, where everything is done manually, from class registration, class scheduling, teaching and learning process, and payment processing which results in many archives that must be stored for administrative purposes and require a relatively large amount of time for customers to come to the course location. Therefore, an information technology-based system is needed to fix the weaknesses of the old system. In this study, an Android-based programming language course application is designed to facilitate customers and course owners in teaching and learning activities and transactions. The design in this study uses the waterfall method, which consists of five stages, needs analysis, design, code, testing, and maintenance. The results obtained from testing applications using questionnaires on programming language course applications are 80% stated by course customers, where the application is easy to use, faster, and more practical in registering. In conclusion, this designed application can make it easier for customers to carry out teaching and learning activities and transact quickly and practically.

Case-Based Teaching for Python Language Under the Background of Big Data

This paper proposes a new teaching method for the Python language programming course, which can better enable students to understand and use in the background of big data. Python is an open-source programming language with a community-based model. In this paper, firstly, various functions are described in Python Language. Additionally, different application areas are presented in this paper, such as transportation logistics, urban management, biomedical field, smart power grid, energy field, and commercial field. Finally, bank customer churn as case-based teaching is introduced can improve the students’ confidence in their future studies.

PAIR PROGRAMMING EXPERIENCES OF PROSPECTIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES TEACHERS

This study aims to reveal the opinions and experiences of undergraduate students regarding a pair programming method used in their programming course. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data for the study. The pair programming method required students to work in pairs throughout the semester. The participants of the study consist of 29 sophomores from computer education and instructional technologies department enrolled on the programming languages course. Collaboration Experiences, Team Member Evaluation, and Self-Assessment forms and a semi-structured interview form were used to collect data. The findings indicate that all the students were positive about the lessons. According to the students, collaboration within pairs was carried out successfully. At the end of the course, students stated that the lessons were sufficient for coding, and they achieved a good performance. In addition, the students were satisfied with the collaboration of their partner and the opportunities they had to improve their communication skills thorough pair programming. In addition, students emphasized that pair programming reduced the instructor’s workload. However, a few students also stated that the process had some limitations. The findings of the study will be useful particularly for instructors while designing programming instruction.