Informatics in Education

We investigate the pedagogical impact of Graphical Loop Invariant Based Programming (GLIBP) in an introductory programming course. This approach encourages students to visually model the objects and variables handled in the loop, before implementing it. To evaluate the efficiency of this GLI model, a four-condition A/B/C/D test was conducted across two problems, with students receiving varying levels of scaffolding (from no support to a fully constructed GLI). Analysis of students’ code showed that a well-designed GLI reduced errors related to the loop guard and the update of variables. However, many students struggled to understand or represent a GLI. The fill-in-the-blank GLI version, in particular, often added cognitive load rather than reducing it. Three recommendations emerged: train students to interpret a provided GLI when writing code; second, teach students to sketch their own model by recognizing similarities to previously solved problems; finally, guide students with questions to ensure all necessary variables and relationships are properly identified.

This paper proposes and validates a short and simple Expectancy-Value-Cost scale, called EVC Light. The scale measures the motivation of students in computing courses, allowing the easy and weekly application across a course. One of the factors related directly to the high rate of failure and dropout in computing courses is student motivation. However, measuring motivation is complex, there are several scales already carried out to do that job, but only a few of them consider the longitudinal follow-up of motivation throughout the courses. The EVC Light was applied to 245 undergraduate students from four universities. The Omega coefficient, scale items intercorrelation, item-total correlation, and factor analysis are used to validate and measure the reliability of the instrument. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses supported the structure, consistency, and validity of the EVC Light scale. Moreover, a significant relationship between motivation and student results was identified, based mainly on the Expectancy and Cost factors.

Games for learning are currently used in several disciplines for motivating students and enhancing their learning experience. This new approach of technology-enhanced learning has attracted researchers' and instructors' attention in the area of programming that is one of the most cognitively demanding fields in Computer Science. Several educational, or else serious, games for learning programming have been developed and the first results of their evaluation as a means of learning are quite positive. In this paper, we propose using arcade games as a means for learning programming. Based on this approach students first play a simple game, such as Snake or Tetris, study its code and then extend it. In a pilot study carried out in the context of an undergraduate programming course, students studied the source code of the well-known game Snake and extended it with new functionalities. The analysis of students' replies in a questionnaire showed that using arcade games as a means of learning programming concepts enhances students' motivation for learning programming, supports them in comprehending complex concepts and engages them in carrying out programming activities.

This paper investigates the motivation of teachers of primary education to be trained by means of ODL (Open and Distance Learning). The survey took place during a professional training period and aimed to investigate initially the awareness of the teachers as regards the possibility to apply an ODL-model for this training, and secondly their estimations for the success of such an approach. Those questions are however considered through a motivational perspective, as the ARCS model of motivation expresses it. Results showed that a percentage of 20% of the teachers were not aware of the potential of a distance learning in general, while the rest of them appeared to be motivated to participate, yet they showed some hesitation for the outcomes of this ``new'' educational method.

Motivating students of the Nintendo generation for Computer Science can only be achieved by providing them with an exiting and fresh CS1 course. The article describes the experience of redesigning the introductory programming course at ETH Zurich and shows how the combination of state-of-the-art visualizations with open project assignments enlivens students' enthusiasm for programming. It shows the setup and the involved libraries, provides example applications that were built in the course, and presents the data gathered in the evaluation of the open assignment.