Discussion of students' difficulties in C and C++ courses focuses on the function concept. Discusses function behavior through a model that uses a robot and its specially constructed environment, and distinguishes between the terms argument and parameter. (Author/LRW)

This paper discusses the author's experiences developing a Java applet that illustrates how error control is implemented in the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). One section discusses the concepts which the TCP error control Java applet is intended to convey, while the nature of the Java applet is covered in another section. The author…

CPU SIM, an interactive low-level computer simulation package that runs on the Macintosh computer, is described. The program is designed for instructional use in the first or second year of undergraduate computer science, to teach various features of typical computer organization through hands-on exercises. (MSE)

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze different perceptions displayed by novice programmers in the C++ programming language, and determine if modularization ability could be improved by an instructional treatment that concentrated on solving computer programs from previously existing modules. This study attempted to answer the following…

Roles can be assigned to occurrences of variables in programs according to a small number of stereotypical patterns of use. Studies on explicitly teaching roles to novices learning programming have shown that roles are an excellent pedagogical tool for clarifying the structure and meaning of programs and that their use improves students'…

Parameter passing is the mechanism by which various program modules share information in a complex program; this paper was a study of novice programmers' understanding of the parameter construct. The bulk of the data was collected from interviews with eight college students enrolled in a state university introductory computer programming course.…

This paper examines how Team Learning allows students to express themselves through their work. I define expression to include taking ownership of one's work, i.e. working through self-motivation rather than through the dictates of a teacher, and participating in a community of workers. This participation includes working with colleagues on…

A collaboration between three higher education institutions in Ireland and two European partners has resulted in the design and development of reusable learning objects for undergraduate programming students that would assist in their learning. This international project conducted extensive research of over 600 students' examination scripts in…

In this paper, two emerging learning and teaching methods have been studied: collaboration in concert with algorithm visualization. When visualizations have been employed in collaborative learning, collaboration introduces new challenges for the visualization tools. In addition, new theories are needed to guide the development and research of the…

The paper uses Ludwig Wittgenstein's theories about the relationship between thought, language, and objects of the world to explore the assumption that OO-thinking resembles natural thinking. The paper imports from research in linguistic philosophy to computer science education research. I show how UML class diagrams (i.e., an artificial…

This article describes an outreach program to broaden participation in computing to include more students with visual impairments. The precollege workshops target students in grades 7-12 and engage students with robotics programming. The use of robotics at the precollege level has become popular in part due to the availability of Lego Mindstorm…

This research has two thrusts of teaching object oriented programming to very young audiences and of increasing student excitement about computing applications with the long-term goal of increasing involvement in technology classes, in the use of computer applications and interest in technology careers. The goal of this work was to provide…

The aim of research is to compare difference between tenth class students and determine their level of success about classic and web based educational applications of Turbo Pascal lesson. This research was applied to 10 A and 10 TLB students of Izmir Karsikaya Anatolian Technical and industrial high school computer department in second term of…

Purposes of this study were to determine: (1) if analogies and elaboration and placement of the analogies help novices learning a computer-programming language; (2) if students' mathematics ability influences programming learning; and (3) the interaction effects between analogy and mathematics ability. Subjects were 156 college students. Results…

With the development of XML Web Services, the Internet could become an integral part of and the basis for teaching computer science and software engineering. The approach has been applied to a university course for students studying introduction to computer science from the point of view of software development in a stateless, Internet…