Study habits of CS1 students: what do they do outside the classroom?

  • Authors:

  • Donald Chinn;Judy Sheard;Angela Carbone;Mikko-Jussi Laakso

  • Affiliations:

  • University of Washington, Tacoma, Tacoma, WA;Monash University, Victoria, Australia;Monash University, Victoria, Australia;University of Turku, Finland

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the Twelfth Australasian Conference on Computing Education - Volume 103
  • Year:
  • 2010

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Abstract

In this paper, we report the results of a survey of the study habits of CS1 students. In this survey, students were asked how much time they spent on course-related activities such as reading the textbook, working on problems outside class, using online learning tools, and consulting with their instructor. We identified factors that influenced student study habits and how those factors affected students' final course score. The findings show that students engaged in a wide range of study behaviours in terms of time spent and use of resources. Previous programming experience and lecture attendance were positive factors to final course score, and a tendency to work with others was a negative factor. We found no difference in final course score based on gender; however, females tended to read the textbook more than males and they tended to work with others more than males.