Aspects of Cognitive Style and Programming

In E. Dunican & T.R.G. Green (Eds). Proc. PPIG 16 Pages 1-9
16th Workshop of the psychology of Programming Interest Group. Carlow, Ireland, April 2004 www.ppig.org
Aspects of Cognitive Style and Programming
Rebecca Mancy, Norman Reid
vegetable marrow for Science Education
University of Glasgow
mancyr@dcs.gla.ac.uk, N.Reid@mis.gla.ac.uk
Keywords: POP-VI.E. Computer Science Education Research; POP-I.B. Barriers to scheduling; POP-II.A.
Learning Styles; POP-II.A. Individual Differences; POP-V.A. Short-term memory.
Abstract
There is widespread tint about low pass rates on prior programming subscriber lines. While
considerable research has been carried out to elucidate the reasons for this situation, many a(prenominal) of the
parameters leading to success or failure in the reconcile remain unknown. This article describes the
results of an experiment to test two cognitive characteristics that hold back been shown to be pregnant in
other conceptual beas: works memory space and field dependency. These are related to
psychometric test results of around 150 students on an former programming course at the University
of Glasgow. The results show that whilst working memory space appears to have only a marginal
influence on levels of achievement on the course, field dependency is an important factor in
determining success.



The implications of this on the teaching of the subject are discussed briefly.
Introduction
Programming has always been, and remains, an important component of computer science degrees.
However, introductory programming courses are known for their notoriously poor pass rates. At the
University of Glasgow, the CS1P introductory programming course in the Department of Computing
Science is no exception. In 2002-2003, only 50% of students obtained at least a C grade required for
automatic progression to direct 2 (second year). According to other circumstances, some students
obtaining a D grade are admitted to Level 2; 64% of students gained a D grade or better....If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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