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ERIC Number: EJ1468098
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jun
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0735-6331
EISSN: EISSN-1541-4140
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Empowering Novice Programmers: Redesigning Documentation for Effective Informal Learning
Icy Zhang1; Yunqi Jia2; Xiaoxuan Cheng2; Ji Y. Son3; James W. Stigler2
Journal of Educational Computing Research, v63 n3 p695-727 2025
Although programming is often learned through formal instruction or self-paced tutorials, informal learning, for example, through publicly available online documentation, is also a significant resource for skill development among novices. However, many novices struggle to extract useful information from documentation. This work aims to answer two key questions: (1) What specific elements of documentation make it difficult for novice learners? (2) What are some design features that could enhance the effectiveness of documentation for novices? Study 1 aims to qualitatively explore the impact of three hypothesized design changes on novice programmers' learning experience: moving examples to the top of the documentation, ordering examples in increasing argument complexity, and displaying example outputs next to example codes. We propose these design changes should facilitate novices' learning from the documentation, enhancing its accessibility and effectiveness. Studies 2 and 3 evaluate the effectiveness of the redesigned documentation on novices' learning outcomes through a quantitative method. Our results demonstrate that these design changes help novices navigate and apply documentation more effectively.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; 2Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 3Department of Psychology, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA