The effects of pair-programming on performance in an introductory programming course

  • Authors:
  • Charlie McDowell;Linda Werner;Heather Bullock;Julian Fernald

  • Affiliations:
  • University of California, Santa Cruz, CA;University of California, Santa Cruz, CA;University of California, Santa Cruz, CA;University of California, Santa Cruz, CA

  • Venue:
  • SIGCSE '02 Proceedings of the 33rd SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
  • Year:
  • 2002

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pair-programming on student performance in an introductory programming class. Data was collected from approximately 600 students who either completed programming assignments with a partner or programmed independently. Students who programmed in pairs produced better programs, completed the course at higher rates, and performed about as well on the final exam as students who programmed independently. Our findings suggest that collaboration is an effective pedagogical tool for teaching introductory programming.