Assessing Live Programming for Program Comprehension
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Author / Producer
Date
2024-07
Publication Type
Conference Paper
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
Previous research on the effects of live program composition in computer science education has shown mixed results; while live programming is well-received by students and can improve the program composition process in some contexts, the resulting programs may be hard to understand, potentially making the paradigm unfeasible for collaborative and general-purpose programming. In this paper, we explore to what extent programs created in Algot, a live programming language, can be understood by tertiary-level students. We conducted an experimental, within-subjects study (n=41) measuring how well students at this level could comprehend programs composed in Algot and Python. We asked our participants to explain the programs and answer questions on them related to tracing, reverse tracing, conceptual extrapolations, and (optionally) time complexity. Despite the participants' lack of familiarity with Algot, students performed better after viewing most programs in Algot than Python, but primarily for problems involving trees and matrices. Our results contribute to the body of research on live programming in computer science (CS) education and complement recent research on the benefits of Algot for program composition, suggesting that Algot can be useful as a more general learning resource in CS tertiary education.
Permanent link
Publication status
published
External links
Editor
Book title
ITiCSE 2024: Proceedings of the 2024 on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education
Journal / series
Volume
Pages / Article No.
520 - 526
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery
Event
29th annual ACM conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE 2024)
Edition / version
v1
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
visual programming; live programming; programming by demonstration; program comprehension; tertiary education
Organisational unit
09628 - Su, Zhendong / Su, Zhendong
Notes
Conference presentation held on July 10, 2024.