This thesis investigates effective ways of designing and integrating Interactive Multimedia (IMM) to facilitate teaching and learning of programming. Drawing on a preliminary investigation in IMM and learning, an initial design and integration approach was developed. The architecture and design features of IMM courseware and its integration were modelled to suppOli the learning activities defined by Laurillard's conversational and Mayes' learning frameworks and to accommodate the needs for the domain identified at two UK Universities. The approach aimed to improve the quality of student learning with IMM courseware through creating a learning context which supports the teaching and learning processes; encourages students to use the courseware for learning; and increases their motivation and interests in the subject matter they study. The primary emphasis of this approach lies in integrating IMM for lectures and tutorial. Sequent case studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach in supporting teaching and learning. Two IMM courseware, consisting of resource-oriented and task-oriented materials, were developed and integrated into four programming modules at Napier and BruneI Universities. To explore the effects of hyperlinks in problem-solving contexts, three different variations of the task-oriented material were developed: one without hyperlinks, the second with questions (static), and the third with model answers when the questions were answered incorrectly (dynamic). The results suggested that student learning experience was enhanced by the use of the IMM courseware for teaching and learning: their performance and perceptions of the subject matters improved. Using the IMM courseware in lectures and tutorials enhanced the teaching and learning processes, promoted active learning and reflective thinking, and created collaborative learning environment. However, weaknesses were also identified in supporting student learning with different knowledge levels. As for the hyperlinks effects, the results showed that the 'dynamic' hyperlinks improved students' performance most effectively. They helped students become aware of their misconceptions and correct them through revisiting the resource-oriented material; and in the process reflect on what they learnt in lectures. The 'static' hyperlinks were found to be beneficial when students did not have sufficient knowledge to test. In addition, the results revealed various factors affecting student learning with IMM. Among them was students' familiarity with IMM, which emphasised the importance of integrating IMM courseware in a way that encourages students to use it for learning. The thesis presents a design and integration approach informed by the findings from the case studies, and proposes a design and integration process with IMM. The process consists of three phases (designing and integrating IMM, and facilitating learning with IMM) and the factors affecting the phases, and illustrates the relationship between them.

The quest for a better way to learn and teach programming, in particular object-oriented programming, is a challenge that continues to intrigue computer science educators. Even after decades of research in learning to program, educators still search for the optimal instructional approach that will solve the `learning to program effectively' problem among introductory programming students. The aim of this study was to gain insight into, and to suggest possible explanations for, the "qualitatively different ways" in which students experience learning to program using an object-oriented programming language, and to recommend teaching and learning strategies as a result of the outcomes of the research. In order to achieve these aims, a combination of phenomenographic research methods and elements of activity theory have been employed to gain an in depth understanding of pre- and in-service teachers' learning experiences. The categories of description for the phenomenon, learning to program and the influence of the learning context have been analysed and described in detail. It is argued that understanding learning to program using Java, in order to teach programming involves more than understanding learning to program as it is normally taught in university programming courses. In addition to object-oriented concepts such as message passing, inheritance, polymorphism, delegation and overriding, it entails understanding how learning to program is reflected in the goals of instruction and in different instructional practices. Knowledge of learning to program must also be linked to knowledge of students' thinking, so that teachers have conceptions of typical trajectories of student learning, and can use this knowledge to recognize landmarks of understanding in individuals. The findings suggest relationships among students' affective appraisals of the value of learning to program, their conceptions of learning to program, their approaches to learning it, their evaluations of their performance in tests and examinations and outcomes of their actions. The relationships emerged from student descriptions of their actions and the way in which different aspects of their learning and outcomes related to one another were qualitatively described and in some cases, quantified. In particular, the tensions between prior programming knowledge of a procedural language and current learning of an object-oriented language have emerged in the study. This has implications for teaching, as this study was set against the backdrop of the change in programming language in high schools, from a procedural to an object-oriented language. / Mathematical Sciences / PhD (Maths, Science and Technology Education)

The quest for a better way to learn and teach programming, in particular object-oriented programming, is a challenge that continues to intrigue computer science educators. Even after decades of research in learning to program, educators still search for the optimal instructional approach that will solve the `learning to program effectively' problem among introductory programming students. The aim of this study was to gain insight into, and to suggest possible explanations for, the "qualitatively different ways" in which students experience learning to program using an object-oriented programming language, and to recommend teaching and learning strategies as a result of the outcomes of the research. In order to achieve these aims, a combination of phenomenographic research methods and elements of activity theory have been employed to gain an in depth understanding of pre- and in-service teachers' learning experiences. The categories of description for the phenomenon, learning to program and the influence of the learning context have been analysed and described in detail. It is argued that understanding learning to program using Java, in order to teach programming involves more than understanding learning to program as it is normally taught in university programming courses. In addition to object-oriented concepts such as message passing, inheritance, polymorphism, delegation and overriding, it entails understanding how learning to program is reflected in the goals of instruction and in different instructional practices. Knowledge of learning to program must also be linked to knowledge of students' thinking, so that teachers have conceptions of typical trajectories of student learning, and can use this knowledge to recognize landmarks of understanding in individuals. The findings suggest relationships among students' affective appraisals of the value of learning to program, their conceptions of learning to program, their approaches to learning it, their evaluations of their performance in tests and examinations and outcomes of their actions. The relationships emerged from student descriptions of their actions and the way in which different aspects of their learning and outcomes related to one another were qualitatively described and in some cases, quantified. In particular, the tensions between prior programming knowledge of a procedural language and current learning of an object-oriented language have emerged in the study. This has implications for teaching, as this study was set against the backdrop of the change in programming language in high schools, from a procedural to an object-oriented language. / Mathematical Sciences / PhD (Maths, Science and Technology Education)