The object-oriented paradigm is widely advocated and has been used in South African universities since the late 1990s. Object-oriented computer programming is based on the object-oriented paradigm where objects are the building blocks that combine data and methods in the same entity. Students' performance in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a matter of concern. In many cases they lack the ability to apply various supportive techniques in the process of programming. Efficient knowledge, skills and strategies are required during problem solving to enhance the programming process. It is often assumed that students implicitly and independently master these high-level knowledge, skills and strategies, and that teaching should focus on programming content and coding structures only. However, to be successful in the complex domain of OOP, explicit learning of both programming and supportive cognitive techniques is required. The objective of this study was to identify cognitive, metacognitive and problem-solving knowledge, skills and strategies used by successful and unsuccessful programmers in OOP. These activities were identified and evaluated in an empirical research study. A mixed research design was used, where both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to analyse participants' data. As a qualitative research practice, grounded theory was applied to guide the systematic collection of data and to generate theory. The findings suggest that successful programmers applied significantly more cognitive-, metacognitive- and problem-solving knowledge, skills and strategies, also using a greater variety, than the unsuccessful programmers. Since programming is complex, we propose a learning repertoire based on the approaches of successful programmers, to serve as an integrated framework to support novices in learning OOP. Various techniques should be used during problem solving and programming to meaningfully construct, explicitly reflect on, and critically select appropriate knowledge, skills and strategies so as to better understand, design, code and test programs. Some examples of teaching practices are also outlined as application of the findings of the study. / Mathematical Sciences / PhD. (Nathematics, Science and Tecnical Education)

The subject of iterative prototyping with data is still in its infancy and problems arise when people with low programming skills aim to build a full-stack interactive web application on their own. This research attempts to evaluate how providing a framework with predefined notations and data structures can improve this process for novice developers. The work consists of an initial reimplementation of a model website and the evaluation of study participants with little experience in the frontend development field through the application of the Cognitive Dimensions and the Think-aloud methods. We have found that by eliminating the requirement of dealing with back-end queries through the offering of such a framework, the process of designing an interactive web application can be facilitated and hastened. There are, nevertheless, some improvements that can be made to further refine their programming experience. / Ämnet kring att framställa iterativa prototyper med data är fortfarande i sin begynnelse och problem uppstår när personer med låg kunskap i programmering har som mål att bygga en full-stack interaktiv webbapplikation. Denna forskning utvärderar hur utvecklingsprocessen kan förbättras för nya utvecklare genom att erbjuda ett ramverk med fördefinierade beteckningar och datastrukturer. Denna studie består av en implementerad modell av en webbapplikation samt utvärdering av studiedeltagare med begränsad erfarenhet inom front-end-utveckling. Utvärderingen gjordes genom användning av ramverket “Cognitive Dimensions” med tillhörande “Think-aloud”-metod. Resultatet visar att genom att eliminera krav för att hantera back-end-anrop har processen att designa en interaktiv webbapplikation kunnat underlättats och påskyndats med hjälp av ett ramverk. Resultatet identifierade även förbättringspunkter som kan implementeras för att vidare underlätta ramverkets programmeringsupplevelse för användare.

This study was motivated by a desire to address the challenges of introductory programming courses. Ethiopian universities teach such courses in large classes (80+ students) and students complain about the difficulty of the courses and teaching variation of instructors. The study was set to explore optimum course and learning environment design approaches. The research question raised was: how can a blended learning approach be used to improve large class teaching of programming? In an action design research approach, the study was initiated with redesigning two consecutive courses and a supportive blended learning environment on the basis of existing learning theories and educational design frameworks. Two cycles of action research were conducted for a dual goal of refinement and evaluation of the intervention. The action research was conducted during the 2012/13 academic year with 240 students at the beginning. A predominantly quantitative first cycle of action research produced a mixed outcome. The students’ marks from assessment activities were fairly close to results from two other international universities. A pre- and post-implementation survey of students’ approach to learning showed a slight class level change towards the deep learning approach. Conversely, some students were found at-risk (not progressing well) and certain technologies, particularly program visualisation tools, were found underutilised. The second action research cycle aimed to explain the result from the first round. A grounded action research evaluation of data from focus group discussions, interviews and participants’ memos identified plausible factors for meaningful programming learning in a large class. These factors were use of collaborative and pair programming; alignment of learning and assignment activities; integrated use of e-learning; and use of large class strategies like student mentors and team teaching. A critical realist interpretation of the result of the action research suggested that students can learn programming in large classes, 200+ in this study, with a course and learning environment design that keeps them engaged in learning and assessment activities. The study concludes that improved learning of programming can be possible with the use of students as mentors and changed role-dynamics of instructors, which presupposes adaptation of suitable pedagogical approaches and use of technologies. / School of Computing / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Systems)

This study was motivated by a desire to address the challenges of introductory programming courses. Ethiopian universities teach such courses in large classes (80+ students) and students complain about the difficulty of the courses and teaching variation of instructors. The study was set to explore optimum course and learning environment design approaches. The research question raised was: how can a blended learning approach be used to improve large class teaching of programming? In an action design research approach, the study was initiated with redesigning two consecutive courses and a supportive blended learning environment on the basis of existing learning theories and educational design frameworks. Two cycles of action research were conducted for a dual goal of refinement and evaluation of the intervention. The action research was conducted during the 2012/13 academic year with 240 students at the beginning. A predominantly quantitative first cycle of action research produced a mixed outcome. The students’ marks from assessment activities were fairly close to results from two other international universities. A pre- and post-implementation survey of students’ approach to learning showed a slight class level change towards the deep learning approach. Conversely, some students were found at-risk (not progressing well) and certain technologies, particularly program visualisation tools, were found underutilised. The second action research cycle aimed to explain the result from the first round. A grounded action research evaluation of data from focus group discussions, interviews and participants’ memos identified plausible factors for meaningful programming learning in a large class. These factors were use of collaborative and pair programming; alignment of learning and assignment activities; integrated use of e-learning; and use of large class strategies like student mentors and team teaching. A critical realist interpretation of the result of the action research suggested that students can learn programming in large classes, 200+ in this study, with a course and learning environment design that keeps them engaged in learning and assessment activities. The study concludes that improved learning of programming can be possible with the use of students as mentors and changed role-dynamics of instructors, which presupposes adaptation of suitable pedagogical approaches and use of technologies. / School of Computing / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Systems)

This study was motivated by the need to overcome the pedagogical hindrances experienced by introductory object-oriented programming students in order to address the high attrition rate evident among novice programmers in distance education. The initial phase of the research process involved exploring a variety of alternative visual programming environments for novices. Thereafter the selection process detailed several requirements that would define the ideal choice of the most appropriate tool. An educational tool Raptor was selected. Lastly, the core focus of this mixed method research was to evaluate undergraduate UNISA students’ perceptions of the Raptor e-learning tools with respect to the perceived effectiveness in enhancing novices’ learning experience, in an attempt to lower the barriers to object-oriented programming. Students’ perceptions collectively of the Raptor visual tool were positive and despite the fact that the sample size was too small to achieve statistical significance, these quantitative and qualitative results provide the practical basis for implementing Raptor in future. Thus providing learning opportunities suited to learner interests and needs, can lead to an enormous potential to stimulate individuals’ motivation and development in creating a more positive learning experience to overcome barriers in programming and enhance concept understanding to address the diverse needs of students in distance education that could lead to a reduced dropout rate. / Computing / M. Sc. (Computing)

Essa pesquisa teve por objetivo central analisar a formação de programadores de software do Arranjo Produtivo Local (APL) de Tecnologia da Informação (TI), da região sudoeste do Paraná. Considerando a emergência desse setor a partir da década de 1990 no Brasil e, posteriormente, seu fortalecimento na região sudoeste desse Estado na última década, esforços foram empreendidos na constituição de processos formativos para o atendimento das demandas de qualificação da força de trabalho no setor. Atrelada à existência do APL, a oferta de cursos de graduação em instituições públicas e privadas da região nos levaram a considerar os processos formativos na área de Tecnologia da Informação um objeto a ser explorado, especialmente a partir de uma perspectiva dos estudos de trabalho e educação, perpassando os estudos de Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade. Diante disso, buscamos entender como é realizada a formação e qualificação para o trabalho na área, tanto nos cursos de graduação como na própria prática produtiva, analisando a aderência ou não das Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) às demandas do setor produtivo. Destacamos, ainda, os processos de autoqualificação pelos quais passam os programadores de software, entendidos por nós como ampliação da exploração dessa força de trabalho. Pautados na orientação teórico-metodológica do materialismo histórico e dialético, realizamos análise de referências sobre a temática, de documentos orientadores para os cursos de graduação e dos dados obtidos na pesquisa de campo, que contou com questionários e entrevistas com programadores de software da região e entrevistas com coordenadores de cursos de graduação da área de TI. Diante disso, entre tantas questões, pudemos concluir a existência de um tríplice e constante processo de formação desses trabalhadores, composto pela educação formal, a aprendizagem na prática produtiva e a autoqualificação. Esses processos, permeados ideologicamente pelos discursos de empreendedorismo, são naturalizados levando à intensificação do trabalho e da aprendizagem. Dessa maneira, há uma ampliação da exploração de sua força de trabalho, que, ao qualificar-se constantemente, implica diretamente na produção de mais-valia relativa. / The main objective of this research was to analyze the training of software programmers from the Local Productive Arrangement (APL) of Information Technology (IT), in the southwestern region of Paraná. Considering the emergence of this sector from the 1990s in Brazil and later its strengthening in the southwestern region of the State of Paraná in the last decade, efforts were made in the constitution of formative processes to meet the demands of qualification of the workforce in the sector. Linked to the existence of APL, the offer of undergraduate courses in public and private institutions in the region led us to consider the training processes in the area of Information Technology an object to be explored, especially from a perspective of work and education studies , passing through the studies of Science, Technology and Society. Therefore, we seek to understand how the training and qualification for the work in the area is carried out, both in the undergraduate courses and in the productive practice itself, analyzing the adherence or not of Higher Education Institutions (IES) to the demands of the productive sector. We also highlight the self-qualification processes through which software programmers, understood by us as an expansion of the exploitation of this workforce, pass. Guided by the theoretical-methodological orientation of the dialectical historical materialism, we carried out an analysis of references on the subject, of guiding documents for the undergraduate courses and of the data obtained in the field research, which included questionnaires and interviews with software programmers from the region and interviews with coordinators of undergraduate IT courses. Faced with this, among many questions, we could conclude the existence of a threefold and constant process of training these workers, composed of formal education, learning in productive practice and self-qualification. These processes, permeated ideologically by the discourses of entrepreneurship, are naturalized leading to the intensification of work and learning. In this way, there is an expansion of the exploitation of its workforce, which, by constantly qualifying, directly implies the production of relative surplus value.

Document describes foundation and development of computer training center. It introduces the reader to the development process and the structure of business plan in the beginning. The process starts with SLEPTE analysis, customer research and simple financial analysis. The result of previous three analyses is SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis recommends author to continue in the business plan development. Therefore, documents describe more accurate and detailed analyses specialized to computer professional courses in the region of Brno and surrounding cities. Next, it describes company strategy according to the results of analyses. Marketing and financial parts of the strategy are the most stressed ones. The reader is very deeply familiarized with company product and their price policy. The last pages of document present steps required to successfully implement company strategy.