Teaching Computer Programming

Effects of Learning Computer Programminq

According to Scherz, Goldberg and Fund (1990), one beneficial effect of learning computer programming may be improvement in students' logical skills and abilities. The authors studied the logical processes (especially mistakes and misconceptions) of a sample of students learning Prolog. Generally, the students evidenced four kinds of misunderstanding: personification, conservation, concretization, and preconception. However, as students grew more adept at programming, they showed improvement in their logical skills and abilities.

Another outcome associated with learning computer programming appears to be a shift in attitudes and feelings toward computers themselves. In this regard, Garon (1988) studied the effects of a computer programming class given to 54 high school girls at risk of dropping out of school. One half

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wchart variable, the requirement to produce a flowchart negatively affected performance at all levels of computer aptitude. Summary of Section 1: Effects of Computer Programming Learning The just reviewed studies, at first inspection, indicate that computer programming instruction is valuable in terms of improving logical abilities and skills, fostering more positive attitudes and feelings toward computers, improving general reasoning skills and even perhaps in improving skills in computer-related academic areas. However, the literature on the extent to which computer programming courses foster the learning of programming itself, showed that the degree of learning that occurred was dependent on a host of variables other than whether or not students took a programming course. Indeed, differences in instructional strategies, the kind of programming tasks being taught, and so forth made for differences in the amount of programming learning students achieved. The foregoing point can be brought to bear with respect to outcomes and effects of computer programming classes other than the mere learning of programming skills. Specifically, there are indications that the benefits students receive (e.g., improvement in logic and rea
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Approximate Word count = 3122
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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