Learning the first programming language is challenging for many students. High failure rates and bimodally distributed grades lead to a pedagogical interest in supporting students in first-year programming courses (CS1). In higher education, the important role of feedback for guiding the learning process and improving the learning outcome is…

The rise of apps and mobile devices has opened the door to small, dedicated software programs that are focused on singular tasks. From the author's perspective as head of digital access and web service manager at Montana State University, these apps offered an opportunity to build a focused digital service aimed at allowing someone to enter a…

Purpose: This paper aims to address the issue of matching controlled vocabulary on agroforestry from knowledge organization systems (KOS) and incorporating these terms in DITA markup. The paper has been selected for an extended version from MTSR'11. Design/methodology/approach: After a general description of the steps taken to harmonize controlled…

Students often face difficulties while learning object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts. Many papers have presented various assessment methods for diagnosing learning problems to improve the teaching of programming in computer science (CS) higher education. The research presented in this article illustrates that although max-min composition is…

A long-term observation of students' usage of a dynamic geometry in a classroom at all grade levels has challenged to develop an approach for learning and understanding mathematics in an easier way for both students and teachers. The paper deals with the results of a study that investigates the process and outcomes of the implementation of…

This study aimed to provide first-hand accounts of the perceived long-term effects of learning computer programming on a learner's approach to mathematics. These phenomenological accounts, garnered from individual interviews of seven different programmers, illustrate four specific areas of interest: (1) programming provides context for many…

Pat Yongpradit is the director of education at Code.org. He leads all education efforts, including professional development and curriculum creation, and he builds relationships with school districts. Pat joined "Educational Horizons" to talk about why it is important to teach computer science--even for non-computer science teachers. This…

In this paper, we describe a Relational Algebra Query Language (RAQL) and Relational Algebra Query (RAQ) software product we have developed that allows database instructors to teach relational algebra through programming. Instead of defining query operations using mathematical notation (the approach commonly taken in database textbooks), students…

This paper presents results of a questionnaire focused on investigating students' confidence and behavioral intention in the area of programming, particularly that of structures, problem solving, and programming commands (Conditional--Loop). Responses from 116 1st year students regarding informatics were used. The results indicate that the…

In this paper, we present a method for recognizing algorithms from students programming submissions coded in Java. The method is based on the concept of "programming schemas" and "beacons". Schemas are high-level programming knowledge with detailed knowledge abstracted out, and beacons are statements that imply specific…

In an earlier work I defined an extension of XML called Algorithm Markup Language (AML) for easy and understandable coding in an IDE which supports XML editing (e.g. NetBeans). The AML extension contains annotations and native language (English or Hungarian) tag names used when coding our algorithm. This paper presents a drawing tool with which…

Optimal test-design methods are applied to rule-based item generation. Three different cases of automated test design are presented: (a) test assembly from a pool of pregenerated, calibrated items; (b) test generation on the fly from a pool of calibrated item families; and (c) test generation on the fly directly from calibrated features defining…

The generation of brand new data seems to be an unwritten rule of much social research and the career field is no exception. However, in these austere economic times, we need to urgently reconsider our research norms and to think of creative ways of doing more for less. We would argue that given the "ordinariness" of the career concept…

This article presents the architecture and evaluation of a novel environment for programming education. The design of this programming environment, and the way it is used in class, is based on the findings of constructivist and cognitivist learning paradigms. The environment is evaluated based on qualitative student and teacher evaluations and…

Data integration is a critical component of enterprise system integration, and XML data validation is the foundation for sound data integration of XML-based information systems. Since B2B e-commerce relies on data validation as one of the critical components for enterprise integration, it is imperative for financial industries and e-commerce…