Analyzing which skills students develop in introductory programming education is an important question for the computer science education community. These key skills and concepts have been formalized as knowledge components, which are units of knowledge that can be measured by performance on a set of tasks. While knowledge components in other…

Background: Conventional reflective learning methodologies in programming education often lack structured guidance and individualised feedback, limiting their pedagogical effectiveness. Whilst computational thinking (CT) offers a systematic problem-solving framework with decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithm design, its…

Large Language Model (LLM) artificial intelligence tools present a unique challenge for educators who teach programming languages. While LLMs like ChatGPT have been well documented for their ability to complete exams and create prose, there is a noticeable lack of research into their ability to solve problems using high-level programming…

Contribution: In this study, an object tuple model has been proposed, and a quasi-experimental study on its usage in an introductory programming language course has been reported. This work can be adopted by all C language teachers and students in learning pointer and array-related concepts. Background: C language has been extensively employed in…

Introduction: Computer Science Education does not have a universally defined set of concepts consistently covered in all introductory courses (CS1). One approach to understanding the concepts covered in CS1 is to ask educators. In 2004, Nell Dale did just this. She also collected their perceptions on challenging topics to teach. Dale mused how the…

Context: Introductory programming courses often face high dropout and failure rates, a challenge widely addressed in computing education research. Collaborative methods, such as group work and pair programming, have been proposed as potential solutions, as they are believed to enhance students' study motivation. Objective: This article provides a…

The purpose of the current study was to explore the effect of modality (constructionist mBlock, Scratch, and Python interventions) on six-grade students' computational thinking, programming attitude, and achievement. The pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design was used to explore the research questions. The study group consisted of 105…

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly common in educational settings, especially in programming education. However, the impact of these tools on the learning process, student performance, and best practices for their integration remains underexplored. This study examines student experiences and…

STEM fields, such as physics, increasingly rely on complex programs to analyse large datasets, thus teaching students the required programming skills is an important component of all STEM curricula. Since undergraduate students often have no prior coding experience, they are reliant on error messages as the primary diagnostic tool to identify and…

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…

Code quality is a critical aspect of programming, as high-quality code is easier to maintain, and code maintenance constitutes the majority of software costs. Consequently, code quality should be emphasized in programming education. While previous research has identified numerous code quality defects commonly made by students, the current state…

Learning programming has become increasingly popular, with learners from diverse backgrounds and experiences requiring different support. Programming-process analysis helps to identify solver types and needs for assistance. The study examined students' behavior patterns in programming among beginners and non-beginners to identify solver types,…

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of the microlearning instructional approach in an online introductory database programming classroom. The ultimate goal of this study is to inform educators and instructional designers on the design and development of microlearning content that maximizes student learning. Grounded within 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 investigated common student errors and underlying difficulties of two groups of Chinese middle school students in an introductory Python programming course using data in the automated assessment tool (AAT) Mulberry. One group of students was from a typical middle school while the other group was from a high-ability middle school. By…