Software modeling is an integral practice for software engineers especially as the complexity of software solutions increase. There is precedent in industry to model information systems in terms of functions, structures, and behaviors. While constructing these models, abstraction and systems thinking are employed to determine elements essential to…

In recent years, not only has there been a dramatic drop in the number of students enrolling in computer science courses, and attrition from computer science courses continues to be significant. Traditionally, computer programming courses have high failure rates, and as they tend to be core to computer science courses can be a roadblock for many…

Over the past 20 years, the field of computer science has experienced a growth in student interest. Despite this increase in participation rates, longstanding gender gaps persist in computer science. Recent research has examined a wide variety of individual factors (e.g., self-efficacy, sense of belonging, etc.) that impact student interest and…

Distributed self-assessments and reflections empower learners to take the lead on their knowledge gaining evaluation. Both provide essential elements for practice and self-regulation in learning settings. Nowadays, many sources for practice opportunities are made available to the learners, especially in the Computer Science (CS) and programming…

The fundamentals of computer science are increasingly important to consider as critical educational and occupational competencies, as evidenced by the rapid growth of computing capabilities and the proliferation of the Internet in the 21st century, combined with reimagined national education standards. Despite this technological and social…

The problem of low student completion rates in distance learning courses remains one of the major issues that institutions of higher learning face. Efforts by school administrators to reverse this trend have so far produced mixed results. The rapid expansion of distance learning has encouraged many institutions to move more courses online,…

This research study investigated the effectiveness of pair programming as a pedagogical tool measured by final course grades. It also aims to examine the experience perceptions of students regarding its implementation in an introductory computer programming course at a community college. In this study, a quantitative and qualitative approach was…

Many institutions across the United States are investing considerable financial resources and human resources in the implementation of personalized adaptive learning (PAL) solutions to improve institutional learning outcomes. Little is known about the shapes and forms of measuring PAL success and the tools that may be utilized to evaluate…

Learning the syntax, semantics, and concepts behind software engineering can be a challenging task for many individuals. This paper examines the Alice 3 software, a three-dimensional visual environment for teaching programming concepts, to determine if it is an effective tool for improving student achievement, raising self-efficacy, and engaging…

With tightened school budgets, school administrators need to know the short term and long range effects of providing gifted programs at the elementary level. Programming opportunities in elementary school have direct impact on middle school and this, in turn impacts high school and college course selection. This study used the Early Childhood…

Decreasing enrollments, lower rates of student retention and changes in the learning styles of today's students are all issues that the Computer Science (CS) academic community is currently facing. As a result, CS educators are being challenged to find the right blend of technology and pedagogy for their curriculum in order to help students…

Podcasting holds great potential both as a teaching and learning tool. As a result, the podcasting phenomenon has attracted the attention of educators at all levels. Much has been written about the use of podcasting as a learning activity and lecture recording, but there is little research on the social and cognitive impacts of educational…

Many students experience difficulties learning to program. They find learning to program in the object-oriented paradigm particularly challenging. As a result, computing educators have tried a variety of instructional methods to assist beginning programmers. These include developing approaches geared specifically toward novices and experimenting…

This study implemented a qualitative approach to examine the phenomenon of "inquiry-based science pedagogy or inquiry instruction" as it has been experienced by individuals. Data was collected through online open-ended surveys, focus groups, and teacher reported self-reflections to answer the research questions: 1) How do middle level…

Problem solving can be thought of in two phases: the first phase is problem formulation and the second solution development. Problem formulation is the process of identifying a problem or opportunity in a situation. Problem Formulation Ability, or PFA, is the ability to perform this process. This research investigated a method to assess PFA and…