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Comparison of Two Approaches when Teaching Object-Orientated Programming to Novices
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 10:42 authored by Adair, D, Jaeger, M, Stegen, JIt has been stated several times in the literature that novice students must grasp object-orientated concepts immediately as the fundamental knowledge for programming using Java. Also, that introducing students to programming using the simpler procedural concepts early only compounds the difficulty of teaching object-orientated programming, as the need to always use some aspect of object-based code in Java cannot be avoided. Attempting to disguise this eventually causes frustration and confusion, even for good students. This paper presents the results of a comparison that evaluates, using a pre-test–post-test control group design, two approaches to teaching Java, where one approach uses objects first and the other uses a procedural followed by an objects approach. The results of the empirical study indicate that the students, who were first year engineers, using the objects first approach do indeed gain a better understanding of programming. This finding is supported by information gathered from a debriefing questionnaire, where the objects first approach was rated as easier for acquiring Java programming knowledge and skills.
History
Publication title
International Journal of Engineering EducationVolume
27Issue
5Pagination
1027-1036ISSN
0949-149XDepartment/School
School of EngineeringPublisher
TEMPUS PublicationsPlace of publication
UKRights statement
Copyright 2011 TEMPUS PublicationsRepository Status
- Restricted