How Do Students Solve Parsons Programming Problems? -- Execution-Based vs. Line-Based Feedback

In large introductory programming classes, there typically are no resources for adequate individual guidance. Automatic feedback for programming tasks can facilitate students' learning by allowing them to get immediate individual feedback regardless of time and place. This paper presents a stud...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2013 Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering (LaTiCE) pp. 55 - 61
Main Authors Helminen, J., Ihantola, P., Karavirta, V., Alaoutinen, S.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.03.2013
Subjects
Automatic Feedback
Browsers
Educational institutions
Measurement
Parsons Puzzles
Programming
Python
Testing
Visualization
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ISBN1467356271
9781467356275
DOI10.1109/LaTiCE.2013.26

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Summary:In large introductory programming classes, there typically are no resources for adequate individual guidance. Automatic feedback for programming tasks can facilitate students' learning by allowing them to get immediate individual feedback regardless of time and place. This paper presents a study on how the type of automatic feedback in Parsons problems affects how students solve them. Students on their first programming class were divided into two groups and, in two assignments, each group in turn received different type of feedback. The type of feedback had an effect on how students constructed their programs and how quickly they were able to complete them. With feedback based on execution as opposed to the visible arrangement of code, the programs were more frequently executable when feedback was requested and, overall, feedback was requested less frequently. Based on the analysis, we discuss possible future improvements to automatic feedback in this type of an assignment.
ISBN:1467356271
9781467356275
DOI:10.1109/LaTiCE.2013.26