An introduction to program comprehension for computer science educators

  • Authors:

  • Carsten Schulte;Tony Clear;Ahmad Taherkhani;Teresa Busjahn;James H. Paterson

  • Affiliations:

  • Freie Universität Berlin, Germany;AUT University, New Zealand;Aalto University, Finland;Freie Universität Berlin, Germany;Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the 2010 ITiCSE working group reports
  • Year:
  • 2010

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Abstract

The area of program comprehension comprises a vast body of literature, with numerous conflicting models having been proposed. Models are typically grounded in experimental studies mostly involving experienced programmers. The question of how to relate this material to the teaching and learning of programming for novices has proven challenging for many researchers. In this critical review from a computer science educational perspective, the authors compare and contrast the way in which different models conceptualize program comprehension. This provides new insights into learning issues such as content, sequence, learning obstacles, effective learning tasks and teaching methods, as well as into the assessment of learning