Learning a computer programming language is typically one of the basic requirements of being an information technology (IT) major. While other studies previously investigate computer programming self-efficacy and grit, their relationships between "shallow" and "deep" learning (Miller et al., 1996) have not been thoroughly…

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…

In this research study, we performed a "content analysis" of selected introductory programming textbooks for three languages to examine which software development concepts are emphasized in these books. Our goal was to determine which concepts are considered to be most representative of software development based on the topics emphasized…

Keeping students motivated during an introductory computer programming can be a challenging task. Looking at its varied complexities, many students who are introduced to computer programming for the first time can easily become demotivated. This work looks at the value-expectancy motivational model of student learning and presents our experiences…

Computer Science students need to acquire knowledge about both the hardware and software aspects of computing systems. It is necessary for them to understand how each layer interacts with one another. However, since Graphical User Interfaces have become ubiquitous, the opportunities to interact with the computer via a command prompt as part of…

Concept mapping, a tool originally developed to facilitate student learning by organizing and visualizing key concepts and their relationships, can also be used to represent the composition of the knowledge contained in a course. In this paper, the authors describe a specific application of concept mapping to help instructors and students…

Undergraduate research can stimulate students' interest, especially in STEM disciplines. This research can be formally offered in different formats such as Undergraduate Research Experiences (UREs). One of these is Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), which are offered as an integral part of scheduled courses. CUREs have been…

Instruction in an introductory programming course is typically designed to introduce new concepts and to review and integrate the more recent concepts with what was previously learned in the course. Therefore, most exam questions in an introductory programming course require students to write lines of code that contain syntactic elements…

Learning how to become a self-regulated learner could benefit students in introductory undergraduate courses, such as computer programming. This study explores the perceived value of instructional and skill-building activities and students' self-efficacy to learn and apply programming skills in an introductory computer programming course. The…

The autonomy and flexibility that online learning contents provide students in a traditional face-to-face course require them to pick up newer strategies for regulating their learning process. This study focuses on identifying how students' self-reported traits of self-regulated learning may relate to the task value of the learning contents of an…

Teaching introductory programming courses to university students who come from a varied set of academic and non-academic backgrounds is challenging. Students who are learning programming for the first time can become easily discouraged leading to procrastination that subsequently can have an unfavorable effect on their learning outcomes, and…

Bitcoin is the first major decentralized cryptocurrency with wide acceptance. A core technological innovation of Bitcoin is blockchain, a secure and pseudonymous general ledger that stores every Bitcoin transaction. Blockchain has received enormous attention from both the commercial and academic worlds, and it is generally recognized as the…

Online textbooks allow instructors to provide interactive and engaging activities for students. In this paper, we look at how providing an interactive online textbook is utilized and valued in a beginning computer programming course. In addition, we compare the utilization of the online textbook to the student final course grade. Our findings…

Learning computer programming is a challenging task for most beginners. Demotivation and learned helplessness are pretty common. A novel instructional technique that leverages the value-expectancy motivational model of student learning was conceptualized by the author to counter the lack of motivation in the introductory class. The result was a…

Python is a popular, general purpose programming language that is gaining wide adoption in beginning programming courses. This paper describes the development and implementation of an introductory Python course at a business university open to students in a variety of majors and minors. Given the growing number of career opportunities in…