Increasing pressure from national government to improve throughput at South African tertiary education institutions presents challenges to educators of introductory programming courses. In response, educators must adopt effective methods and strategies that encourage novice programmers to be successful in such courses. An approach that seeks to increase and maintain satisfactory throughput is the modification of the teaching model in these courses by adjusting presentation techniques. This thesis investigates the effect of integrating an experimental iconic programming notation and associated development environment with existing conventional textual technological support in the teaching model of a tertiary level introductory programming course. The investigation compares the performance achievement of novice programmers using only conventional textual technological support with that of novice programmers using the integrated iconic and conventional textual technological support. In preparation for the investigation, interpretation of existing knowledge on the behaviour of novice programmers while learning to program results in a novel framework of eight novice programmer requirements for technological support in an introductory programming course. This framework is applied in the examination of existing categories of technological support as well as in the design of new technological support for novice programmers learning to program. It thus provides information for the selection of existing and the design of new introductory programming technological support. The findings of the investigation suggest strong evidence that performance achievement of novice programmers in a tertiary level introductory programming course improves significantly with the inclusion of iconic technological support in the teaching model. The benefits are particularly evident in the portion of the novice programmer population who have been identified as being at risk of being successful in the course. Novice programmers identified as being at risk perform substantially better when using iconic technological support concurrently with conventional textual technological support than their equals who use only the latter form. Considerably more at risk novice programmers using the integrated form of technological support are in fact successful in the introductory programming course when compared with their counterparts who use conventional textual technological support only. The contributions of this thesis address deficiencies existing in current documented research. These contributions are primarily apparent in a number of distinct areas, namely: • formalisation of a novel framework of novice programmer requirements for technological support in an introductory programming course; • application of the framework as a formal evaluation technique; • application of the framework in the design of a visual iconic programming notation and development environment; • enhancement of existing empirical evidence and experimental research methodology typically applied to studies in programming; as well as • a proposal for a modified introductory programming course teaching model. The thesis has effectively applied substantial existing research on the cognitive model of the novice programmer as well as that on experimental technological support. The increase of throughput to a recommended rate of 75 percent in the tertiary level introductory programming course at the University of Port Elizabeth is attributed solely to the incorporation of iconic technological support in the teaching model of the course.

It is an acknowledged fact that many novice programmers experience difficulty in the process of learning to program. One of the contributing factors to this difficulty is the Program Development Environment (PDE). Professional-PDEs are those developed specifically for professional programmers, but are often used by educational institutions in the instruction of programming. It has long been accepted that such environments are inappropriate in the instruction of programming due to unnecessary complexity and lack of support for novice programmers in the learning process. Numerous pedagogical-PDEs supporting the mechanics of programming have been developed in response to this. A review of literature, however, indicates that very limited empirical studies comparing pedagogical-PDEs and professional-PDEs have been conducted. The current study investigates whether there are measurable benefits to using a pedagogical-PDE supporting the mechanics of programming in the instruction of programming instead of a professional-PDE. A comparative study of this nature requires a representative pedagogical-PDE and representative professional-PDE be compared with one another. The first part of the current study determines a set of requirements that a pedagogical- PDE should adhere to based on literature. A set of representative features for a pedagogical-PDE is derived by examining the features of existing PDEs in conjunction with the set of requirements. Based on these features, a pedagogical-PDE, known as SimplifIDE, is developed that implements the representative set of features and that meets are the requirements for a pedagogical-PDE. The second part of the current study is the specification and administration of an empirical experiment in which SimplifIDE and Borland© DelphiTM are compared with one another. A holistic approach in determining the differences between the PDEs is taken and three main areas are examined, namely academic performance, perceptions and programming behavior.

This study examined the appropriateness of introducing computer programming to kindergarten children. Three issues were explored in the research: 1. the programming capabilities of kindergarten children using a single keystroke program 2. suitable teaching techniques and learning environments for introducing programming 3. the benefits of programming at the kindergarten level. The subjects for the study were 40 kindergarten students from a surburban community in British Columbia, Canada. All students used the single keystroke program, DELTA DRAWING. Two teaching techniques were used—a structured method and a guided discovery method. Quantitative data were collected by administering five skills tests (skills relating to programming) as pretests and postests to both groups. A programming posttest was also given. Qualitative data were obtained by recording detailed observation reports for each of the 22 lessons (11 for each group), conducting an interview with each child at the end of the study and distributing a parent questionnaire. It can be concluded that it is appropriate to introduce computer programming to kindergarten students. The children in this study showed they are capable of programming. All students mastered some programming commands to instruct the "turtle" to move on the screen. DELTA DRAWING was determined to be a suitable means to introduce programming to kindergarten children. A combination of a structured teaching method and a guided discovery method is recommended for introducing a single keystroke program. It was observed that students in a guided discovery learning environment are more enthusiastic and motivated than students in a structured environment. Students need time to explore and make discoveries, but some structure is necessary to teach specific commands and procedures which may otherwise not be discovered. Social interaction should be encouraged while children use the computer, however most kindergarten children prefer to work on their own computer. There was no significant difference between the two groups on all but one of the five skills tests for both the pretests and the posttests. On the Programming Test the two groups did not perform significantly different. It can also be concluded that learning to program promotes cognitive development in certain areas. On all but one of the five skills test both the Structured Group and the Guided Discovery Group scored significantly better on the posttest than on the pretest. Lesson observation reports, student interviews and responses on parent questionnaires suggested that the computer experience was positive and rewarding for the kindergarten students. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

PhD. (Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Hackathons originated from the evolution and revolution of computers. They were primarily designed as a collaborative tool for solving computer-related tasks or theorising new possibilities based on specific infrastructures. With the prevalence of technology and the drive for digital evolution, the role of hackathons becomes increasingly essential, making its presence known in almost every domain with the potential to transform the business world and society at large. However, hackathons in the educational domain cannot be understood in the same way as their counterparts in a purely business or career-driven domain because of their special nature. Given that educational institutions in South Africa are still in the early stages of using hackathons, studying factors affecting hackathon adoption for teaching and learning computer programming is critical and timely. The research aimed to investigate and find factors that had a bearing on hackathon adoption for teaching and learning computer programming. To realise the aim, a systematic literature review was conducted. Then, a conceptual framework was developed that has its variables (attitude (ATT), effort expectancy (EE), facilitating conditions (FC), perceived usefulness (PU), relative advantage (RA), performance expectancy (PE), perceived ease of use (PEOU), subjective norm (SN), and behavioural intention (BI)) based on an extensive literature review. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to test the model. The web-based questionnaire was administered to two hundred forty-nine (249) South African Information Technology programming students. Reliability of variables was measured, and all the variables had a co-efficient of 0.7 and greater. Factor analysis was applied and the PEOU failed to fulfil the requirement and so it was dropped. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to further analyse the data collected. The correlation result indicated that all the remaining variables in the conceptual framework are significant and have a positive relationship PU (𝑟=0.615), RA (𝑟=0.657), PE (𝑟= 0.597), SE (𝑟=0.660), ATT (𝑟=0.440), EE (𝜌<0.520), SN (𝑟= 0.441), and FC (𝑟=0.357) have a positive relationship with behavioural intention (𝜌<0.001) to adopt hackathon. The regression result indicated that the following variables (PU (𝛽=0.141,𝜌=0.036), RA (𝛽=0.142,𝜌=0.045), PE (𝛽=0.205,𝜌=0.002) and SE (𝛽=0.330,𝜌=0.000) have a positive influence on students’ hackathon adoption. The research study managed to validate the conceptual framework indicating variables that influence or have a relationship with BI. The developed framework forms the main contribution of this research study. The developed framework can be used to assist educators with the variables that have a strong bearing on the adoption of hackathon in education. The adoption of hackathon in education will contribute towards transforming the learning environment from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred one by facilitating a form of social learning where knowledge is created amongst students when interacting, thereby, building relationships, and supporting the learning that happens from cooperation, dependence and helping each other. In conclusion, the introduction of hackathons in education in computer programming can revolutionise the programming landscape in South Africa and around the world during this period of the fourth industrial revolution.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

This study provides a rationale for advising students on whether to enroll in individualized/self-paced computer courses. It identifies seven factors that have a significant correlation with success in an individualized computer course. The sample comprises all the students enrolled in individualized computer courses at Lee College, Baytown, Texas in the spring semester of 1988. Students completed a survey to determine whether they had previous computer experiences, whether they operated with a level of introvert personality characteristics, and whether the individualized computer course was their first choice. Students completed a learning style inventory and a score was determined using the items relating to individualized computer studies. Data collected in the Lee College records office included high school percentile rank, standardized reading score, standardized mathematics score, college hours completed, course withdrawals, and age. The following seven factors were shown by the data to have a significant correlation with a final grade (in order of decreasing significance): (a) learning style inventory, (b) high school percentile, (c) standardized mathematics score, (d) standardized reading score, (e) previous computer experience, (f) number of college hours, and (g) age. The following three factors were shown by the data to have no significant correlation with a final grade: (a) course withdrawals, (b) degree of personality introversion, and (c) the individualized computer course as first choice. The findings substantiate the hypothesis that success in an individualized computer course might be attributed to certain factors, and once identified, these factors can be used in advising students. Advisors should use as many of the seven factors (identified as significant), as possible in helping students choose between individualized and traditional computer courses.

The problem of this study was to determine the effects of computer programming instruction on fifth graders, as measured by gains, if any, on tests of logic and problem solving.

Learning to program is recognised nationally and internationally as a complex task that novices find challenging. There exist many endeavours to support the novice in this activity, including software tools that aim to provide a more supportive environment than that provided by standard software facilities, together with schemes that reduce the underlying complexity of programming by providing accessible micro-worlds in which students develop program code. Existing literature recognises that learning to program is difficult because of the need to learn the rules and operation of the language (program formulation), and the concurrent need to interpret problems and recognise the required components for that problem (problem formulation). This thesis describes a new form of learning support that addresses that dual task of program and problem formulation. A review of existing teaching tools that support the novice programmer leads to a set of requirements for a support tool that encompasses the processes of both program and problem formulation. This set of requirements is encapsulated in a conceptual framework for software tool development. The framework demonstrates how the requirements of a support tool can be met by performing a series of automated analyses at different stages in the student's development of a solution. An extended series of observations demonstrates the multi-faceted nature of problems that students encounter whilst they are learning to program and how these problems can be mapped onto the different levels of programs and problem formulation. These observations and the framework were used to inform the development of SNOOPIE, a sample instantiation of the framework for learning Java programming. This software tool has been fully evaluated and demonstrated to have a significant impact on the learning process for novice Java programmers. SNOOPIE is fully integrated into a current introductory programming module and a future programme of work is being established that will see SNOOPIE integrated with other established software tools.

Low student success rates in introductory computer programming classes result in low student retention rates in computer science programs. For some sections of the course a traditional approach began using C# in the .Net development environment immediately. An experimental course redesign for one section was prepared that began with a study of HTML and JavaScript and focused on having students build web pages for several weeks; after that the experimental course used C# and the .Net development environment, covering all the material that was covered in the traditional sections. Students were more successful in the experimental section, with a higher percentage of the students passing the course and a higher percentage of the students continuing on to take at least one additional computer science course. / Department of Computer Science