The global shortage of skilled programmers remains a persistent challenge. High dropout rates in introductory programming courses pose a significant obstacle to graduation. Previous studies highlighted learning difficulties in programming students, but their specific weaknesses remained unclear. This gap exists due to the predominant focus on the…

Introductory computer programming (i.e. CS1) is the entry point into the computer science major at higher education institutions worldwide. It introduces foundational concepts to students that are then built upon in future courses. Computer science as a whole has struggled to attract and retain students in the major, particularly women and…

This qualitative research used the tenants of phenomenological research to structure a study that begins to identify faculty coordinator's decision processes in selecting a general education mathematics course. In this study, I examined the question if a faculty member's experiences or beliefs had any influence on the decision process. The…

This study explores student perceptions of learning to code by evaluating AI-generated Python code. In an experimental exercise given to students in an introductory Python course at a business university, students wrote their own solutions to a Python program and then compared their solutions with AI-generated code. They evaluated both solutions…

The principles of programming language design for learning and teaching have been described and discussed for several decades. Most influential was the work of Niklaus Wirth, describing principles such as simplicity, modularity, orthogonality, and readability. So why is this still an area of fundamental disagreement among educators? Why can…

Machine learning methods can be used to reduce the manual workload in exam grading, making it possible for teachers to spend more time on other tasks. However, when it comes to grading exams, fully eliminating manual work is not yet possible even with very accurate automated grading, as any grading mistakes could have significant consequences for…

Computer science is a fast-growing field in today's digitized age, and working in this industry often requires creativity and innovative thought. An issue within computer science education, however, is that large introductory programming courses often involve little opportunity for creative thinking within coursework. The undergraduate…

Students want to learn computer science due to its usefulness for future careers, however they often meet challenges in introductory courses. In the increasingly digital world, it is important to understand some important psychological consequences of such challenges: perceived costs of pursuing computer science. This study thus investigated…

Background and Context: Computer Science has traditionally had poor student retention, especially among women. Prior work has found that student attitudes are a key factor to retention, especially with "weedout" courses such as Calculus. Objective: To determine how student attitudes towards CS 1 and Calculus change over active-learning…

Teaching programming is a topic that has generated a high level of interest among researchers in recent decades. In particular, multiple approaches to teaching visual programming have been explored, from the use of tools such as Scratch, robots, unplugged programming, or activities for the development of computational thinking. Despite the wide…

When incorporating programming into a statistics course, there are many pedagogical considerations. In R, one consideration is the particular R syntax used. This article reports on a head-to-head comparison of a pair of introductory statistics labs, one conducted in the formula syntax, the other in tidyverse. Pre- and post-surveys show minimal…

Interdisciplinarity has been touted as a means to recruit more racially and gender-diverse students to computing. In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, we investigated demographic characteristics among a sample of undergraduate students pursuing interdisciplinary computing major and minor combinations at 15 institutions in the United…

A replication study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of an instructional treatment based on self-efficacy theory when used with novice Arduino microcontroller users. Students (n = 32) in an introductory university agricultural systems technology course participated in a lesson on Arduino microcontrollers, circuit breadboarding, and…

The evaluation of student projects is a difficult task, especially when they involve both a technical and a creative component. We propose an artificial intelligence (AI)-based methodology to help in the evaluation of complex projects in engineering and computer science courses. This methodology is intended to evaluate the assessment process…

This mixed-method pretest/post-test experimental study examined the effect of learning analytics (LA)-based interventions on students' academic achievement and self-regulatory skills, and explored students' perceptions of such interventions in flipped classrooms (FC). Sixty-two college students from an introductory computer course were randomly…