Evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of Parsons problems and dynamically adaptive parsons problems as a type of low cognitive load practice problem
Abstract
Learning to program can be difficult and time consuming. Learners can spend hours trying to figure out why their program doesn’t compile or run correctly. Many countries, including the United States, want to train thousands of secondary teachers to teach programming. However, busy in-service teachers do not have hours to waste on compiler errors or debugging. They need a more efficient way to learn. One way to reduce learning time is to use a completion task. Parsons problems are a type of code completion problem in which the learner must place blocks of correct, but mixed up, code in the correct order. Parsons problems can also have distractor blocks, which are not needed in a correct solution. Distractor blocks include common syntax errors like a missing colon on a for loop or semantic errors like the wrong condition on a loop. In this dissertation, I conducted three studies to compare the efficiency and effectiveness of solving Parsons problems, fixing code, and writing code. I also tested two forms of adaptation. For the second study, I added intra-problem adaptation, which dynamically makes the current problem easier. For the last study, I added inter-problem adaptation which makes the next problem easier or harder depending on the learner's performance. The studies provided evidence that students can complete Parsons problems significantly faster than fixing or writing code while achieving the same learning gains from pretest to posttest. The studies also provided evidence that adaptation helped more learners successfully solve Parsons problems. These studies were the first to empirically test the efficiency and effectiveness of solving Parsons problems versus fixing and writing code. They were also the first to explore the impact of both intra-problem and inter-problem adaptive Parsons problems. Finding a more efficient and just as effective form of practice could reduce the frustration that many novices feel when learning programming and help prepare thousands of secondary teachers to teach introductory computing courses.
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The effects of training information, problem type, and problem structure on performance in a complex automated system
Nash, Beverly Elaine (Georgia Institute of Technology, 1993-08) -
Solution Based Problem Evolution and Problem Inception in Biologically Inspired Design
Helms, Michael E. (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-08-08)Biologically inspired design is one of the most important movements in contemporary engineering design. The paradigm entails the use of biological systems as sources of ideas for the design of technological products. Thus, ... -
Airline crew pairing optimization problems and capacitated vehicle routing problems
Qiu, Shengli (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-04-11)Crew pairing and vehicle routing are combinatorial optimization problems that have been studied for many years by researchers worldwide. The aim of this research work is to investigate effective methods for solving large ...