Conceptual models and cognitive learning styles in teaching recursion

  • Authors:

  • Cheng-Chih Wu;Nell B. Dale;Lowell J. Bethel

  • Affiliations:

  • Dept. of Info. & Computer Edu., National Taiwan Normal Univ., Taipei, Taiwan;Dept. of Computer Sciences, University of Texas, Austin, Austin, Texas;Dept. of Computer Sciences, University of Texas, Austin, Austin, Texas

  • Venue:
  • SIGCSE '98 Proceedings of the twenty-ninth SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
  • Year:
  • 1998

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Abstract

An experimental research design was implemented in an attempt to understand how different types of conceptual models and cognitive learning styles influence novice programmers when learning recursion. The results indicate that in teaching recursion to novice programmers:• concrete conceptual models are better than abstract conceptual models,• novices with abstract learning styles perform better than those with concrete learning styles,• abstract learners do not necessarily benefit more from abstract conceptual models, and• concrete learners do not necessarily benefit more from concrete conceptual models.