Background and Context: Computing education is expanding, while the teaching of algorithms is less well studied. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching algorithms. Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven computer science (CS) teachers in upper secondary…

Background and Context: Collaborative and cooperative learning is important to prepare students for their future work and to increase their learning performance in university courses. Several studies have shown promising results regarding team activities, such as pair programming. However, there is little information on how teamwork is currently…

Background and Context: During online learning, it is essential to provide instructional guidance to support learning. However, guidance can be given in different forms and quantities. Thus, one important challenge is to provide the right amount and type of instructional guidance. Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate types of guidance…

Models are expanding their use for many different purposes in the field of software engineering and, due to their importance, universities have started incorporating modeling courses into their programs. Being a relatively new discipline, teaching modeling concepts brings in new challenges. Our contribution in this paper is threefold. First, we…

Background and Context: Despite many initiatives to develop Computational Thinking (CT), not much is known about how early programmers develop CT and how we can assess their learning. Objective: Determine if the analysis of students' interactions with an online platform allows understanding the development of CT, how we can convert data collected…

Background and Context: Computational Thinking (CT) has been recently integrated into new and revised Digital Technologies content (DTC) in the Technology learning area of the New Zealand School Curriculum. Objective: To aid this change, this research examined how CT supports learning outcomes in both music and programming with the Sonic Pi…

This article presents the results of observations and analyses of students' learning model-driven system development from two related courses taught at a university in Norway and at a university in the United States in 2015, and consequently, in an updated version in 2016. The motivation of this article is to understand and analyse how effective…

Background: Key to optimizing Computational Thinking (CT) instruction is a precise understanding of the underlying cognitive skills. Román-González et al. (2017) reported unique contributions of spatial abilities and reasoning, whereas arithmetic was not significantly related to CT. Disentangling the influence of spatial and numerical skills on CT…

Background and Context: Encouraging undergraduate programming students to think more about their software development processes is challenging. Most programming courses focus on coding skill development and mastering programming language features; subsequently software development processes (e.g. planning, code commenting, and error debugging) are…

Recent increased interest in computational thinking poses an important question to researchers: What are the best ways to teach fundamental computing concepts to students? Visualization is suggested as one way of supporting student learning. This mixed-method study aimed to (i) examine the effect of instruction in which students constructed…

We report on an intervention in which informal programming labs were switched to a weekly machine-evaluated test for a second year Data Structures and Algorithms module. Using the online HackerRank system, we investigated whether greater constructive alignment between course content and the exam would result in lower failure rates. After…

This article explores the suitability of static analysis techniques based on the abstract syntax tree (AST) for the automated assessment of early/mid degree level programming. Focus is on fairness, timeliness and consistency of grades and feedback. Following investigation into manual marking practises, including a survey of markers, the assessment…

In line with the growing interest in extending the diversity of CS students, we examined the performance of a unique group of students studying an introductory course in Digital logic: ultraorthodox Jewish men, whose previous education was based mostly on studying Talmud and who lacked a conventional high-school education. We used questions from…

Background and Context: Vygotsky's sociocultural theory emphasises the importance of language, mediation, and the transfer of skills and knowledge from the social into the cognitive plane. This perspective has influenced the development of PRIMM (Predict, Run, Investigate, Modify, Make), a structured approach to teaching programming. Objective:…

The challenge of teaching programming in higher education is complicated by problems associated with large class teaching, a prevalent situation in many developing countries. This paper reports on an investigation into the use of a blended learning approach to teaching and learning of programming in a class of more than 200 students. A course and…