The aim of this explanatory study is to identify the causes of intrinsic cognitive load in programming process. For this purpose, a method based on two dimensions; programming knowledge types (syntactic, semantic, and strategic) and programming constructs was proposed. The proposed method was tested with high school students enrolled in Computer…

Objectives: Java is a popular programming language for use in computing education, but it is difficult to get a wide picture of the issues that it presents for novices; most studies look only at the types or frequency of errors. In this observational study, we aim to learn how novices use different features of the Java language. Participants:…

Programming is becoming increasingly common in mathematics degrees as it is a desirable skill for new graduates. However, research shows that its use is mostly restricted to computational or modelling tasks. This paper reports a study on students' perceptions of and difficulties with Lean, an interactive theorem prover introduced as part of a…

This study explores the effects of worked-out examples and metacognitive scaffolding on novice learners' knowledge performance, cognitive loads, and self-regulation skills in problem-solving programming. 126 undergraduate students in a computer programming fundamentals course were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (1) task performance with…

Although programming is often learned through formal instruction or self-paced tutorials, informal learning, for example, through publicly available online documentation, is also a significant resource for skill development among novices. However, many novices struggle to extract useful information from documentation. This work aims to answer two…

Concurrency is a complex to learn topic that is becoming more and more relevant, such that many undergraduate Computer Science curricula are introducing it in introductory programming courses. This paper investigates the combined use of Sonic Pi and Team-Based Learning to mitigate the difficulties in early exposure to concurrency. Sonic Pi, a…

Currently, there is little evidence about how non-English-speaking students learn computer programming. For example, there are few validated assessment instruments to measure the development of programming skills, especially for the Spanish-speaking population. Having valid assessment instruments is essential to identify the difficulties of the…

Programming skills are increasingly important to the current digital economy, yet these skills have long been regarded as challenging to acquire. A central challenge in learning programming skills involves the simultaneous use of multiple component skills. This article investigates why students struggle with integrating component skills--a…

This study investigates the effects of metacognitive and cognitive strategies for computational thinking (CT) on managing cognitive load and enhancing problem-solving skills in collaborative programming. Four different scaffolding conditions were provided to help learners optimize cognitive load and improve their problem-solving abilities. A total…

Serious games are a growing field in academic research and they are considered an effective tool for education. Game-based learning invokes motivation and engagement in students resulting in effective instructional outcomes. An essential aspect of a serious game is the method of support for presenting the teaching material and providing feedback.…

Block-based programming languages (BBLs) have been proposed as a way to prepare students for learning to program in more sophisticated, text-based languages, such as Java. Hybrid BBLs add the ability to view and edit the block commands in auto-generated, text-based code. We compared the use of a non-hybrid BBL (Scratch), a hybrid BBL (Pencil…

Probability theory has extensive applications across various domains, such as statistics, computer science, and finance. In probability education, students are introduced to fundamental principles which may include mathematical topics such as combinatorics and symmetric sample spaces. Students pursuing degrees in computer science possess a robust…

Background and Context: Multiple studies report that experienced instructors lack consensus on the difficulty of programming tasks for novices. However, adequately gauging task difficulty is needed for alignment: to select and structure tasks in order to assess what students can and cannot do. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine…

Background and Context: Block-based programming is a popular approach to teaching introductory programming. Block-based programming often works in the context of microworlds, where students solve specific puzzles. It is used, for example, within the Hour of Code event, which targets millions of students. Objective: To identify design guidelines…

Based on hundreds of thousands of hours of data about how students learn in massive open online courses, educational machine learning promises to help students who are learning to code. However, in most classrooms, students and assignments do not have enough historical data for feeding these data hungry algorithms. Previous work on predicting…