Infusing active learning into introductory programming courses

Authors:
Keith J. Whittington
Affiliations:
B. Gollisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, Rochester, NY
Venue:
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
Year:
2004

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Abstract

Since ancient times, it has been known that the best learning takes place when the students are actively involved in the learning process and are critically thinking. As an old Chinese proverb states:"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand".This paper discusses several specific active learning activities that were applied to introductory programming courses. An active and highly interactive classroom was created using these activities. Several of the problems with active learning cited in the literature were also overcome. The effectiveness of these activities was supported by increased student retention, grades, self-confidence, and student surveys.