Abstract
Teaching introductory programming can be a challenging task. Students can become too concerned with learning syntax at the expense of more general conceptual understanding. Distance education students in particular often have problems as the difficulty of the course content is compounded by the problems of isolation from other students and their tutor. Although instructional strategies for emphasising conceptual knowledge are well known for face-to-face instruction, there has been little attempt to apply them to the external situation. This paper describes a supplementary package for external students designed to address some of these problems. The package has been used for two semesters and feedback from students indicates that they find it a valuable resource.
- Anderson, J. & Reiser, B. (1985) The Lisp tutor, t3vte, 1(), 159-175. Google Scholar
Digital Library
- Aveling, N., Smith'. S. & Wilson, C. (1992) Meeting the needs of isolated students: Is a technological fix the answer? In Parer. Ed. Academia Under Pressure." Theory and Practice {br the 21st Century, Research and Development in Higher Education, 15, Churchill Vic: HERDSA.Google Scholar
- Dalbey, J. & Linn, M.C. (1985) The demands and requirements of computer programming. A review of the', literature. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 1. 253-274.Google Scholar
Cross Ref
- Kurland, D.M., Pea, R.D., Clement, C. & Mawby, R. (1986) A study of the development of programming abilJLt3_T and thinking skills in high school students. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2(4). 429-.458.Google Scholar
Cross Ref
- Linn, M.C. & Clancy, M.j. (1992) Can experts' explanations help students develop program design skills?. hlternational Journal o/J~4an-?~lachine Studies. 36. 511- 551. Google Scholar
Digital Library
- Linn. M.C. & Dalbey, j. (1985) Cognitive consequences of programming instruction Instruction, access, and ability. Educational P,~vchologist; 2(). 191-206.Google Scholar
- Linn. M.C., Sloane, K. & Clancy, M.J. (i 987) Ideal and actual outcomes from precollege Pascal instnaction. Journal oJ'Research in Science Teaching. 24, 467-490.Google Scholar
- Petre, M. (1990) Expert programmers and programming languages. In J.M. Hoc. T.R.G. Green. Samurcay, R. & D.J. Gilmore, Ed. Psychology o/'Programmmg. London:: Academic Press.Google Scholar
- Schwartz. S., Perkins. D.N., Estey, G., KmidLenier~ J. & Simmons, R. (1989) A "metacourse" for BASIC: Assessiing a new model for enhancing instruction. Journal ~?f Educational Computing Research~ 5(3). 263-.297.Google Scholar
Cross Ref
- Shaltk~ P.K. & Linn, M.C (1 c - upporting Pascalprogramming with an on-line template librar~~ and casetudies. International Journal c?/'~(an-3,lachme Studies, 38, 1031-1()48. Google Scholar
Digital Library
- Soloway. E. & Ehrlich, K. (1984) Empirical studies of programming knowledge. IEEE Transactions on Sojkware Engineering, 10, 595-6(.)9Google Scholar
Digital Library
- Volel, S.E. (199 t ) Modelling and coaching of relevant metacognitive strategies for enhancing university students' learning. Learning and Instruction. 1, 319-336.Google Scholar
Index Terms
A supplementary package for distance education students studying introductory programming
Recommendations
A supplementary package for distance education students studying introductory programming
SIGCSE '96: Proceedings of the twenty-seventh SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science educationTeaching introductory programming can be a challenging task. Students can become too concerned with learning syntax at the expense of more general conceptual understanding. Distance education students in particular often have problems as the difficulty ...
Evaluating a distance education program
The distance education evolutionIn higher education, distance learning initiatives are very linked to the overall institution's educational mission. For such an initiative to succeed, a carefully designed distance education evaluation plan is necessary. This chapter describes key ...






Comments