This thesis reports a research project that aims to improve the teaching and learning of introductory programming from a pedagogical and psychological viewpoint. Towards this aim, seven principles for designing educational programming tools for novices were identified by reviewing literature regarding novices’ difficulties and using a theoretical framework defined by the psychological theories of Constructivism and Cognitive Load Theory. This set of design principles was not only theoretically identified, but its pedagogical impact was also empirically tested. For this reason, Koios, a new programming tool, was designed and developed as a manifestation of the combined set of principles. Empirical studies were conducted by a way of a quasi-experimental design in two different Greek secondary-education institutions. The independent variable was compliance with the set of the seven principles. Students’ level of programming skills (procedural knowledge) was the dependent variable, while the quality of their mental models in the domain of introductory programming (declarative knowledge) was the potential mediator. The effect of compliance with the set of principles on students’ programming skills and mental-model quality was explored via Koios’ evaluation. Declarative- and procedural-knowledge measurements, as well as a practical test, were used to collect data, which were analysed using ANOVA and hierarchical multiple regression. The major conclusions drawn from this study are:(a) compliance with the set of design principles does not affect the development of novices’ procedural and declarative programming knowledge, (b) a programming tool that highly complies with this set facilitates novices in the application of their procedural programming knowledge during program creation and (c) programming tools, declarative and procedural knowledge are independent components in learning to program. However, it was also concluded that the two knowledge types and a programming tool that highly complies with the set contribute significantly to novices’ programming performance. This study contributes to knowledge by theoretically identifying and empirically testing a set of design principles for educational programming software, and by producing and scientifically evaluating a programming tool as an embodiment of this set. Through this evaluation, the suggestion of Koios as a practically useful programming tool for novices seems to be well supported.

Informação relacionada a concertos de bugs tem sido explorada na construção de preditores de bugs cuja função é o suporte para a verificação de sistemas de software identificando quais elementos, como arquivos, são mais propensos a bugs. Uma grande variedade de métricas estáticas de código e métricas de mudança já foi utilizada para construir tais preditores. Dos muitos preditores de bugs propostos, a grande maioria foca em sistemas orientados à objeto. Apesar de orientação a objetos ser o paradigma de escolha para a maioria das aplicações, o paradigma procedural ainda é usado em várias — muitas vezes cruciais — aplicações, como sistemas operacionais e sistemas embarcados. Portanto, eles também merecem atenção. Essa dissertação extende o trabalho na área de predição de bugs ao avaliar e aprimorar preditores de bugs para sistemas procedurais de software. Nós proporcionamos três principais contribuições: (i) comparação das abordagens existentes de predição de bugs no contexto de sistemas procedurais, (ii) proposta de uso dos atributos de qualidade de software como atributos de predição no contexto estudado e (iii) avaliação dos atributos propostos em conjunto com a melhor abordagem encontrada em (i). Nosso trabalho provê, portanto, fundamentos para melhorar a performance de preditores de bugs no contexto de sistemas procedurais. / Information regarding bug fixes has been explored to build bug predictors, which provide support for the verification of software systems, by identifying fault-prone elements, such as files. A wide range of static and change metrics have been used as features to build such predictors. Many bug predictors have been proposed, and their main target is objectoriented systems. Although object-orientation is currently the choice for most of the software applications, the procedural paradigm is still being used in many—sometimes crucial—applications, such as operating systems and embedded systems. Consequently, they also deserve attention. This dissertation extends work on bug prediction by evaluating and tailoring bug predictors to procedural software systems. We provide three key contributions: (i) comparison of bug prediction approaches in context of procedural software systems, (ii) proposal of the use of software quality features as prediction features in the studied context, and (iii) evaluation of the proposed features in association with the best approach found in (i). Our work thus provides foundations for improving the bug prediction performance in the context of procedural software systems.

Informação relacionada a concertos de bugs tem sido explorada na construção de preditores de bugs cuja função é o suporte para a verificação de sistemas de software identificando quais elementos, como arquivos, são mais propensos a bugs. Uma grande variedade de métricas estáticas de código e métricas de mudança já foi utilizada para construir tais preditores. Dos muitos preditores de bugs propostos, a grande maioria foca em sistemas orientados à objeto. Apesar de orientação a objetos ser o paradigma de escolha para a maioria das aplicações, o paradigma procedural ainda é usado em várias — muitas vezes cruciais — aplicações, como sistemas operacionais e sistemas embarcados. Portanto, eles também merecem atenção. Essa dissertação extende o trabalho na área de predição de bugs ao avaliar e aprimorar preditores de bugs para sistemas procedurais de software. Nós proporcionamos três principais contribuições: (i) comparação das abordagens existentes de predição de bugs no contexto de sistemas procedurais, (ii) proposta de uso dos atributos de qualidade de software como atributos de predição no contexto estudado e (iii) avaliação dos atributos propostos em conjunto com a melhor abordagem encontrada em (i). Nosso trabalho provê, portanto, fundamentos para melhorar a performance de preditores de bugs no contexto de sistemas procedurais. / Information regarding bug fixes has been explored to build bug predictors, which provide support for the verification of software systems, by identifying fault-prone elements, such as files. A wide range of static and change metrics have been used as features to build such predictors. Many bug predictors have been proposed, and their main target is objectoriented systems. Although object-orientation is currently the choice for most of the software applications, the procedural paradigm is still being used in many—sometimes crucial—applications, such as operating systems and embedded systems. Consequently, they also deserve attention. This dissertation extends work on bug prediction by evaluating and tailoring bug predictors to procedural software systems. We provide three key contributions: (i) comparison of bug prediction approaches in context of procedural software systems, (ii) proposal of the use of software quality features as prediction features in the studied context, and (iii) evaluation of the proposed features in association with the best approach found in (i). Our work thus provides foundations for improving the bug prediction performance in the context of procedural software systems.

Informação relacionada a concertos de bugs tem sido explorada na construção de preditores de bugs cuja função é o suporte para a verificação de sistemas de software identificando quais elementos, como arquivos, são mais propensos a bugs. Uma grande variedade de métricas estáticas de código e métricas de mudança já foi utilizada para construir tais preditores. Dos muitos preditores de bugs propostos, a grande maioria foca em sistemas orientados à objeto. Apesar de orientação a objetos ser o paradigma de escolha para a maioria das aplicações, o paradigma procedural ainda é usado em várias — muitas vezes cruciais — aplicações, como sistemas operacionais e sistemas embarcados. Portanto, eles também merecem atenção. Essa dissertação extende o trabalho na área de predição de bugs ao avaliar e aprimorar preditores de bugs para sistemas procedurais de software. Nós proporcionamos três principais contribuições: (i) comparação das abordagens existentes de predição de bugs no contexto de sistemas procedurais, (ii) proposta de uso dos atributos de qualidade de software como atributos de predição no contexto estudado e (iii) avaliação dos atributos propostos em conjunto com a melhor abordagem encontrada em (i). Nosso trabalho provê, portanto, fundamentos para melhorar a performance de preditores de bugs no contexto de sistemas procedurais. / Information regarding bug fixes has been explored to build bug predictors, which provide support for the verification of software systems, by identifying fault-prone elements, such as files. A wide range of static and change metrics have been used as features to build such predictors. Many bug predictors have been proposed, and their main target is objectoriented systems. Although object-orientation is currently the choice for most of the software applications, the procedural paradigm is still being used in many—sometimes crucial—applications, such as operating systems and embedded systems. Consequently, they also deserve attention. This dissertation extends work on bug prediction by evaluating and tailoring bug predictors to procedural software systems. We provide three key contributions: (i) comparison of bug prediction approaches in context of procedural software systems, (ii) proposal of the use of software quality features as prediction features in the studied context, and (iii) evaluation of the proposed features in association with the best approach found in (i). Our work thus provides foundations for improving the bug prediction performance in the context of procedural software systems.

This paper main goal is to introduce the basic language and programming styles of the mathematical software Mathematica (5.2), and applies it to solve problems in algebra, calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics. We hope readers can enhance the interest of learning mathematics by the aid of software, verify the common theorem using the software, and solving mathematical problems.

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)