The learning environment of the novice programmer in the introductory programming course offered by the Department of CS&IS at the NMMU is discussed to provide the context in which the comparative study is to take place. The structure of the introductory programming course is described and details the learning resources, learning activities and learning supports that are in place. This is followed by an explanation of how evidence of learning is determined and concludes with a short discussion on the historical performance of students enrolled for the introductory programming course.
5.2.1 Introductory Programming Course Structure at NMMU
A framework for typical introductory programming courses consists of learning
resources, learning activities and learner supports (Oliver 1999; Garner 2003). Each
part of the framework supports and depends on the other components for its effectiveness (Figure 5.1).
Learning resources form the content of the course and are made up of those materials used to help students construct their knowledge and meaning with respect to the
course content. These materials typically come in the form of textbooks, notes, tutorials and sample code.
Learning activities are tasks given to students in order to help them to concentrate on learning. Common activities in introductory programming courses include solving a problem, designing a flow chart and debugging programs and are fundamental in determining how learners engage with material and the learning outcomes (Wild & Quinn 1997). Learning Resources Learning Activities Learner Supports
Figure 5.1: Learning Framework
Learning supports are supports for learners that provide responsive and sensitive feedback to individual learner needs. Educators are one such support; although technology based learning environments may also provide additional support to students. Each of components of the learning framework and how they are represented in the introductory programming course are discussed next.
Learning Resources
Learning resources provided to the students in the introductory programming course at the NMMU are comprised of:
• lecture notes;
• a compulsory prescribed textbook; • weekly practical learning activities; • selected solutions to practical tasks; and • sample test and exam question papers.
Students are provided with lecture notes at the onset of the introductory programming course. The lecture notes are summary of the important concepts that will be covered during the course and contain all example source code used during lecture sessions.
The weekly practical learning activities are based on the topics covered during previous lecture sessions and are often in the form of story problems. Solutions to selected tasks in a practical learning activity are provided after the submission date of the tasks. This allows students to check their solutions against a model solution and determine where they lack knowledge.
Sample test and exam scripts are made available to allow students. Provision of sample assessment scripts enables students to gauge the types of questions and the spectrum of topics that can be covered by assessments.
The learning resources provided support the curriculum of the introductory programming course presented by the Department of CS&IS at the NMMU. The course covers basic data types, variables, assignments, arithmetic and logical operations, comparisons, branching, looping, arrays and subroutines, specifically functions and procedures (NMMU 2005). Programming concepts are progressively introduced with specific learning activities employed to allow students to learn the new content and skills.
Learning Activities
The researcher involved in the current investigation is directly involved with the facilitation of learning of the students. The facilitation is in the form of lecture sessions and weekly practical learning activities that need to be performed.
In a specific week, 105 minutes of lecture session time is allocated, with two lecture sessions being offered on different days. One lecture session is 35 minutes in duration, while the other is 70 minutes and students are expected to attend all lecture sessions. A typical lecture session consists of a new topic being presented, followed by an in- class discussion of the topic with class participation. One or more worked examples are completed, after which students are required to answer questions regarding the worked example(s) and then solve other problems individually or in small groups. Volunteers are requested to provide their solution for class scrutiny. It is emphasised that there is nothing “wrong” with providing imperfect solutions, in fact, it is stressed that these solutions provide better discussion opportunities. In the last 5 minutes of a lecture session, homework problems are given.
Once a week, students are required to attend a practical session of 80 minutes in the department’s computer laboratories. During this session, students are required to electronically submit the previous week’s practical learning activities and laboratory assistants mark selected students’ practical learning activities, providing one-on-one feedback. New practical learning activities to be completed are distributed to all students, who are then required to complete the tasks. Tasks are either novel in nature, or similar to those encountered during lecture sessions and are designed to ensure that students are required to allocate an additional 1-2 hours per week of self study time in order to complete them.
Learning Supports
Non-technical learning supports offered during the introductory programming course at the NMMU consist of the use of flowcharts and pseudo-code during the first four weeks of the course. After this, all learning activities requiring programming are performed using the prescribed programming notation and PDE, namely Object Pascal in the designated PDE.
In addition to this, laboratory assistants offer assistance during practical sessions. Assistance is in the form of verbal communication with students requesting clarification of problems or validation of potential solutions. Laboratory assistants are not allowed to provide “code solutions”, but are required to guide students to the correct answer. Students requiring assistance outside of practical sessions are able to make appointments to see the lecturer of the introductory programming course or attend Supplemental Instruction sessions.
The NMMU provides Supplemental Instruction (SI) to students taking certain courses at the university that are known to be difficult. The introductory programming course is one such course. Attendance of SI sessions is on a strictly voluntary basis and caters to students that experience difficultly with one of the offered courses. During an SI session, the SI leader helps students by going through additional problems and reporting to the lecturer involved if areas where many students experience problems are detected.
Limited technical support of the type described by the learning framework, such as video clips and animation algorithm (Garner 2003), is provided. This is addressed by the current investigation.
5.2.2 Evidence of Student Learning
Evidence of a student learning and mastering the course content, upon completion of the introductory programming course at the NMMU, is provided by means of a final grade. The final grade is calculated as the weighted average of a continuous assessment grade and a written examination grade. The following weights are used:
• 60% from a single, syntax specific pen-and-paper examination grade; and • 40% from a continuous assessment grade accumulated over the duration of the
course.
The continuous assessment grade is comprised of:
• 21% from the assessment of a maximum of 5 out of 14 practical assignments; • 69% from two pen-and-paper semester tests; and
• 10% from a single laboratory practical semester test.
A final grade of 50% is considered evidence of successful completion of the introductory programming course at the NMMU.
5.2.3 Historical Student Performance
Attrition rates experienced indicate the difficulty of the introductory programming course. In 2002 (Cilliers 2005), 273 historically first year students registered for the introductory programming course at the NMMU. Of the students registered in 2002 (Figure 5.2):
• 130 (48%) successfully completed the course;
• 66 (24%) did not successfully complete the course due to obtaining a poor final grade;
• 55 (28%) did not successfully complete the course due to unsatisfactory performance in the continuous assessment activities;
• 3 (1%) cancelled during the course; and
Passes 48% Failures 24% Cancellations 1% Unsatisfactory Performance 20% Alternate Stream 7%
Figure 5.2: Student Performance in Introductory Programming Course in 2002
Research into increasing pass rates was conducted within the research group in 2003 (Section 1.4) and in 2004 the pilot study for the current study was conducted. 2002 is therefore the latest year in which performance statistics are unaffected by treatments. The discussion on the learning environment established the context within which the comparative study is to be performed. The following section details the materials and instruments that are used in the collection of data.