Collaborative Behavior Patterns of Students in Programming Instruction

The pair programming approach is used to overcome the difficulties of the programming process in education environments. In this study, the interaction sequences during the paired programming of preservice teachers was investigated. Lag sequential analysis were used to explore students’ behavioral patterns in pair programming. The participants of the study consist of 14 students, seven pairs enrolled in a Programming Languages course. The findings indicate that there are significant behavioral learning sequences. During the program development process, students hesitated to create an algorithm and to improve an existing one while proposing the next step. In addition, they constantly waited for approval. Collaborative behaviors such as giving and receiving feedback and helping other partners were less observed in females. In addition, significant sequential driver and navigator behaviors were presented. The findings of the study have important implications for instructors and designers when using a pair programming approach in teaching programming. In the future, programming instruction environments can be designed by considering the learner behaviors that are presented in this study.

Developing Confident Computational Thinking through Teacher Twinning Online

In view of the current focus on computational thinking in schools, professional development is needed so that teachers can help students acquire the requisite skills. Enhancing teachers' confidence is one important aspect. This article describes a project which offers teachers a playful, supportive introduction to computer programming, using the language Scratch. The project, CTwins (“Coding Twins” or “Computational Thinking wins”), entails teachers working in pairs called ‘twins' to produce an artefact, by communicating and reflecting in an online environment. The theoretical framework uses research on pair programming and working in online communities. An evaluative action research approach in two cycles was undertaken, the first being a pilot. For each cycle, teachers completed surveys to measure confidence pre- and post-participation, posted to the online environment, and participated in a focus group. The article then outlines implementation of the CTwins strategy, presents the findings – teachers' confidence showed gains overall-– and discusses possibilities for future work.

Caracterización de las inteligencias múltiples de estudiantes de lógica y programación y la pertinencia de pair programming

La teoría de las inteligencias múltiples (IM) es un campo importante y novedoso dentro de la psicología de la educación, pues entre otras cosas, brinda una base sólida para planificar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Para esto, es importante caracterizar previamente a los estudiantes de acuerdo a sus IM predominantes. La presente investigación caracteriza las IM de estudiantes de programas tecnológicos de la Fundación Universitaria de San Gil, cuyo núcleo básico común se encuentra en Ingeniería de Sistemas, Telemática y Afines. Se realizó un estudio no experimental, descriptivo y de corte transversal con una muestra conveniente de 25 estudiantes de un total de 244, a quienes se les aplicó un test de escala Likert para evaluar las inteligencias múltiples propuestas por Howard Gardner (2001). Los resultados muestran que las IM predominantes en los estudiantes son la lógico-matemática, espacial-visual y musical. Además, en el contexto de la asignatura Lógica y Programación, se establece que la metodología Pair Programming podría potencializar las inteligencias múltiples de menor predominancia, mientras aprovecha las habilidades que brindan las IM que predominan en estos estudiantes.

An experience in mixing cognitive and affective teaching approaches in a CS1 course

Learning computer programming involves overcoming different obstacles to mature technical, cognitive, and social skills. The literature presents a variety of teaching approaches to engage students in learning how to program. However, there is a lack of works that combine different teaching methods from cognitive and affective dimensions or consider the latter dimension in face-to-face classes consistently. This work presents our experience mixing pair programming, formative feedback, aspects of the affective dimension, and creative programming problems. The preliminary results analysis of three groups (82 students) reveals the contribution of our approach to the pass and fail rates (P = 0.0367 and 0.0329, respectively) corroborated by students’ feedback.

The Effect of Pair Programming Learning Model on Learning Outcomes of Basic Programming of Vocational School Students

The main problem in formal learning today is the low absorption of students in understanding the material. This can be seen from the average student learning outcomes which are always still low. Low learning outcomes are indicated because the learning conditions are still conventional (lectures, practicums, and discussions). This study aims to determine the effect of pair programming learning models on learning outcomes of vocational high school students. This research was conducted through a literature review and relevant research results and was continued through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). From the research it was found that there was a significant positive influence between the variable pair programming learning model and student learning outcomes, which means that student learning outcomes can be improved through the application of the pair programming learning model.