C++ For Example

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Computer Science (31) An undergraduate education is a critical link between high school and a society increasingly dependent upon computer technology. SMET majors increasingly need computer programming as a fundamental skill. Students effectively learn computer programming by using examples, yet the number of examples that can be presented in class and in a textbook is limited. The cognitive approaches of collaborative and discovery learning supported by the intellectual scaffolding of a robust set of examples can give students a deep understanding of concepts they discover on their own. Assignment of computer programming problems just beyond a student's current skill level functions as the 'leading question', where carefully constructed examples give the student the information necessary to construct a mental model leading to the solution to the problem. This can help overcome the cognitive bottleneck where too few students negotiate the transition from lower-level skills to higher-level skills, from basic rote memorization and re-telling skills to more abstract knowledge synthesizing and transforming skills. The difficulty lies in getting a complete set of the right examples. This project creates a web-based system which gives intuitive access to between 300 and 500 examples illustrating the main points in the C++ programming language. A prototype is being implemented in a pilot study over two years, being used with 300 undergraduate students taking an introductory programming course at UIC. Evaluation will use both web-based statistics and evaluation forms, comparing student skill levels and attitudes before and after the system's implementation.