Ways of experiencing the act of learning to program: A phenomenographic study of introductory programming students at university

Christine Bruce; Lawrence I Buckingham; John R Hynd; Camille A McMahon; Michael G Roggenkamp; Ian D Stoodley

doi:10.28945/294

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Ways of experiencing the act of learning to program: A phenomenographic study of introductory programming students at university

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Ways of experiencing the act of learning to program: A phenomenographic study of introductory programming students at university

Christine Bruce, Lawrence I Buckingham, John R Hynd, Camille A McMahon, Michael G Roggenkamp and Ian D Stoodley

Journal of Information Technology Education, Vol.3, pp.144-160

2004

DOI: https://doi.org/10.28945/294

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Abstract

Other Information and Computing Sciences

Curriculum and Pedagogy

introductory programming

higher education

phenomenography

student learning

first year experience

The research reported here investigates variation in first year university students' early experiences of learning to program, with a particular focus on revealing differences in how they go about learning to program. A phenomenographic research approach was used to reveal variation in how the act of learning to program may be constituted amongst first year university students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students who had either recently completed, or were enrolled in, a university-level introductory programming subject. Analysis revealed that students might go about learning to program in any of five different ways; by: (1) Following - where learning to program is experienced as 'getting through' the unit; (2) Coding - where learning to program is experienced as learning to code; (3) Understanding and integrating - where learning to program is experienced as learning to write a program through understanding and integrating concepts; (4) Problem solving - where learning to program is experienced as learning to do what it takes to solve a problem, and; (5) Participating or enculturation - where learning to program is experienced as discovering what it means to become a programmer. The relationships between these different approaches to learning are represented diagrammatically. The mapping of the variation constitutes a framework within which one aspect of the teaching and learning of introductory programming, how students go about it, may be understood. Implications for teaching and learning in introductory university curricula are discussed.

Details

Title: Ways of experiencing the act of learning to program: A phenomenographic study of introductory programming students at university
Authors: Christine Bruce (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Lawrence I Buckingham (Author) - University of Queensland
John R Hynd (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Camille A McMahon (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Michael G Roggenkamp (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Ian D Stoodley (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Publication details: Journal of Information Technology Education, Vol.3, pp.144-160
Publisher: Informing Science Institute
Date published: 2004
DOI: 10.28945/294
ISSN: 1539-3585
Copyright note: Copyright © 2004 Informing Science Institute. The author's accepted version is reproduced here in accordance with the publisher's copyright policy. The definitive version is available at http://www.informingscience.org/
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450094202621
Output Type: Journal article

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