This case study considered the syllabus of the first and second year studies in computer science. The aim of the study was to reveal which topics covered in the syllabi were really needed during the following years of study or in working life. The program that was assessed in the study was a Masters program in computer science and engineering at a…

This article describes research on the learning of object-oriented programming (OOP) by novices. During two academic years, we taught OOP to high school students, using Java and BlueJ. Our approach to teaching featured: objects-first, teaching composed classes relatively early, deferring the teaching of main methods, and focusing on class…

The development of educational computing in the last two decades has been largely uncritical and the field is dominated by technocentric approaches. With few notable exceptions, sociologists of education have not directly addressed educational computing. As a result, the social, political and cultural origins and implications of educational…

Examines possible reasons for a gender bias toward males and against females studying computing at the secondary school level in Scotland. Recommendations for improvement are provided for the following areas: (1) access to the curriculum, (2) course design, (3) teachers' attitudes and teaching styles, (4) language, (5) assessment issues, and (6)…

For beginning programmers, inadequate problem solving and planning skills are among the most salient of their weaknesses. In this paper, we test the efficacy of natural language tutoring to teach and scaffold acquisition of these skills. We describe ProPL (Pro-PELL), a dialogue-based intelligent tutoring system that elicits goal decompositions and…

The Invention Factory is a nontraditional youth-based, after-school program in Honolulu that teaches information technology and mechanics to teenagers through interactive, hands-on projects that improve human computer interaction for individuals with disabilities. One objective of the program is to stimulate interest in science and engineering…

In 1996, the Department of Computer Science at Monash University (Australia) implemented a First Year Advanced Students' Project Scheme aimed at extending and stimulating its best first year students. The goal of the scheme was to give students the opportunity to work on a project that best suited their needs and captured their interests. One of…

Concept maps are widely used in education, and have been acclaimed for their excellent results. For efficiently using concept maps in education, computer-based concept mapping systems have been developed. However these computer-based concept mapping systems are limited in their assessment algorithms. The assessment takes only concept nodes as the…

Students in a graduate class and an undergraduate class in Information Systems completed a Web-based programmed instruction tutor that taught a simple Java applet as the first technical training exercise in a computer programming course. The tutor is a competency-based instructional system for individualized distance learning. When a student…

Adaptive learning resources selection and sequencing is recognized as among the most interesting research questions in adaptive educational hypermedia systems (AEHS). In order to adaptively select and sequence learning resources in AEHS, the definition of adaptation rules contained in the Adaptation Model, is required. Although, some efforts have…

Compares the experiences of a group of Internet students to those of conventional distance learning students in the same Computer Science course at the Open University (United Kingdom). Discusses learning styles; background questionnaires that included computer use, email experience, programming, education, and attitudes; learning outcomes;…

Describes the development of a statistical experiment to assess and compare the effects of traditional lecture and laboratory technology methods of teaching introductory computer programming concepts. Discusses the use of performance measures including tests, quizzes, homework, and projects to assess students' learning, retention, and success…

This paper discusses in detail the nature of the conceptual development in beginning computing education for teachers and makes a case for the inclusion of programming experiences. The controversial nature of this perspective is addressed directly including a historical perspective. The discussion includes an account of some specific notions of…

The identification and integration of reusable and customizable CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) may benefit from the capture of best practices in collaborative learning structuring. The authors have proposed CLFPs (Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns) as a way of collecting these best practices. To facilitate the process of CLFPs…

The phrase "technology and education" usually means inventing new gadgets to teach the same old stuff in a thinly disguised version of the same old way. Moreover, if the gadgets are computers, the same old teaching becomes incredibly more expensive and biased towards its dullest parts, namely the kind of rote learning in which measurable…