Giving Students Canned Code using Typing Exercises

A significant issue Computer Science students face are syntax errors. This poster presents two studies on the use of typing exercises. In a usability and interaction study, 14 students were asked to complete typing, fill in the blank, and self-explanation style exercises. Fill in the blank were similar to typing exercises with 1 line of code omitted. Self-explanation exercises were graded on whether the student could adequately describe how the source code of a program worked. Students with "Poor"-labeled self-explanations experienced more typing errors and took more time completing exercises. In a semester-long study, 99 students in a CS2 course completed 538 submissions of 66 weekly typing exercises. Students were divided into four categories: users that joined but never used the platform, users that barely used the platform, regular viewers of exercises, and regular completers of exercises. Regular completers earned a minimum final letter grade of a B, compared to 90% regular viewers, 76% from barely used, and 81% from never used. Regular completers were not simply high performing students that did additional work, as 40% of regular completers scored a C or lower on the course's first midterm exam. Based on these findings, students who used the system performed similarly or better than students who did not. While not the only source of practice, typing exercises (and other novel exercises) can serve as a viable tool for teaching Computer Science and boosting low-performing students' abilities.