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Solving Code-tracing Problems and its Effect on Code-writing Skills Pertaining to Program Semantics

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Amruth N. KumarAuthors Info & Claims

ITiCSE '15: Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

Pages 314 - 319

https://doi.org/10.1145/2729094.2742587

Published: 22 June 2015 Publication History

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Abstract

An earlier study had found that solving code tracing problems helped improve code writing skills of students. But, given the instruments used in the earlier study, the improvement in code writing pertained primarily to language syntax. A follow-up within-subjects controlled study was conducted to investigate whether solving code tracing problems could help improve code writing skills pertaining to the semantics of a program. In the study, students were asked to write code for a control and a test problem both before and after a problem-solving session on code tracing. Increase in the score from pre-quiz to post-quiz was treated as improvement in code writing attributable to code tracing. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the data collected over four semesters. A statistically significant improvement in code writing skills pertaining to program semantics was observed on the test problems, but not on control concepts in the control problems. The improvement in code-writing skills as they pertain to program semantics accrued to the students who scored 90% or more on code-tracing problems in this study. Finally, the transfer in learning from code-tracing activities to code-writing skills may be near as well as far.

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Solving Code-tracing Problems and its Effect on Code-writing Skills Pertaining to Program Semantics
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing education
      1. Computing education programs
        Computer science education

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ITiCSE '15: Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education

June 2015

370 pages

ISBN:9781450334402

DOI:10.1145/2729094

Conference Chair:
Valentina Dagienė
Vilnius University, Lithuania
,
Program Chairs:
Carsten Schulte
Berlin Freie University, Germany
,
Tatjana Jevsikova
Vilnius University, Lithuania

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Association for Computing Machinery

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Published: 22 June 2015

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Bilkent University
SIGCSE

ITICSE '15: Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education Conference 2015

July 4 - 8, 2015

Vilnius, Lithuania

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ITiCSE '15 Paper Acceptance Rate 54 of 124 submissions, 44%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 552 of 1,613 submissions, 34%

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Sychev O(2024)Searching Questions and Learning Problems in Large Problem Banks: Constructing Tests and Assignments on the FlyComputers10.3390/computers1306014413:6(144)Online publication date: 5-Jun-2024
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A study of the influence of code-tracing problems on code-writing skills

The effect of computer-assisted instruction on the science process skills of community college students

The use of computers to improve writing skills among low-achieving hispanic students

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