An engaging first programming class (CS1) often inspires students' passion for computer science (CS). However, the evidence in the literature suggests that the average CS1 classes are anything but engaging for many students. The performance of CS compared to other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in international…

The ability to program in R, an open-source statistical program, is increasingly valued across job markets, including ecology. The benefits of teaching R to undergraduates are abundant, but learning to code in R may induce anxiety for students, potentially leading to negative learning outcomes and disengagement. Anecdotes suggest a gender…

In the face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the hybrid teaching model has garnered significant attention for its combination of the depth of traditional education with the convenience of distance learning. Focusing on the domain of computer programming language instruction, this study innovatively designs a hybrid teaching…

Project-based learning (PBL) engages students deeply with course concepts and empowers them to drive their own learning through the development of solutions to real-world challenges. By taking ownership of and completing a project that they designed, students develop and demonstrate creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. This…

For most beginners, learning computer programming is a complex undertaking. Demotivation and learned helplessness have been widely reported. In addition to the subject's complexity, low in-class involvement has been linked to poor student performance. This work introduces a novel instructional technique called Student-Driven Probe Instruction…

The instrumental approach is a useful theoretical lens for understanding students' learning processes with a main focus on the transformation of an artefact (a human design for a goal-directed activity) into a meaningful instrument (i.e. an artefact and schemes developed by the student). In this paper, we articulate the instrumental approach for…

The closure of educational institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic leads imperatively to the utilization of technological advances and the Internet for enabling the continuity of learning. To this direction, Mobile Game-based Learning (MGbL) can be beneficial to teaching and learning; since, from technological perspective, most students prefer…

Adding gaming elements to conventional teaching methodologies has gained a lot of attention because of its ability to incorporate an engaging, motivating, and fun-based environment. As a result, learners' dedication and performance are also better. Unfortunately, current gamification models do not consider the effect of different levels of…

Student evaluation is a key consideration for educational program administrators because program success depends on students' ability to demonstrate successful development of core competencies. Student evaluations must therefore be aligned with learning objectives and overall program goals. Graduate level educational programs typically incorporate…

Achieving learner engagement in the teaching and learning process is paramount towards ensuring knowledge retention in QBASIC programming. This study focuses on effects of b-learning and face-to-face (F2F) on college students' engagement and retention in QBASIC programming. The study adopted quasi-experimental design with non-equivalent group…

This paper describes a virtual system that emulates an ARM-based processor machine, created to replace a traditional hardware-based system for teaching assembly language. The virtual system proposed here integrates, in a single environment, all the development tools necessary to deliver introductory or advanced courses on modern assembly language…

Scratch, a visual programming language, was used in many studies in computer science education. Most of them reported positive results by integrating Scratch into K-12 computer courses. However, the object-oriented concept, one of the important computational thinking skills, is not represented well in Scratch. Alice, another visual programming…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two different methods on primary school teacher candidates' academic achievements and attitudes toward computer-based education, and to define their views on these methods. Both the first experimental group, programmed instruction (PI), and the second experimental group, meaningful…