research-article

Novice Reflections on Debugging

Authors:

Jacqueline Whalley,

Andrew Luxton-ReillyAuthors Info & Claims

SIGCSE '21: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

Pages 73 - 79

https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3432374

Published: 05 March 2021 Publication History

Abstract

Despite decades of literature calling for research on teaching debugging, we still lack clear guidelines on how to teach debugging processes effectively. This is a significant problem as debugging is an activity that is a key component of software development and a frustrating and time-consuming barrier to students who are learning to program. In this paper we reflect on teaching and learning debugging through the lens of student beliefs about their own debugging practice. We find that few students use systematic approaches such as the scientific method of hypothesis generation and testing that is informally adopted by many software developers. Some students appeared to be satisfied with their ad hoc approaches while others expressed a desire to develop more thorough approaches.

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Cited By

Dar MKhursheed TAhmad AFayaz R(2024)Unveiling Chat GPT’s Educational Prospects: A SWOT Analysis2024 11th International Conference on Computing for Sustainable Global Development (INDIACom)10.23919/INDIACom61295.2024.10499038(1419-1423)Online publication date: 28-Feb-2024
https://doi.org/10.23919/INDIACom61295.2024.10499038
Park ECheon J(2024)Exploring Debugging Challenges and Strategies Using Structural Topic Model: A Comparative Analysis of High and Low-Performing StudentsJournal of Educational Computing Research10.1177/0735633124129117462:8(2104-2126)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331241291174
Sun CYang SBecker B(2024)Debugging in Computational Thinking: A Meta-analysis on the Effects of Interventions on Debugging SkillsJournal of Educational Computing Research10.1177/0735633124122779362:4(1087-1121)Online publication date: 20-Jan-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331241227793
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Index Terms

Novice Reflections on Debugging
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing education

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cover image ACM Conferences

SIGCSE '21: Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

March 2021

1454 pages

ISBN:9781450380621

DOI:10.1145/3408877

General Chairs:
Mark Sherriff
University of Virginia, USA
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Laurence D. Merkle
Air Force Institute of Technology, USA
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Program Chairs:
Pamela Cutter
Kalamazoo College, USA
,
Alvaro Monge
California State University, Long Beach, USA
,
Judithe Sheard
Monash University, Australia

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Published: 05 March 2021

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Cited By

Dar MKhursheed TAhmad AFayaz R(2024)Unveiling Chat GPT’s Educational Prospects: A SWOT Analysis2024 11th International Conference on Computing for Sustainable Global Development (INDIACom)10.23919/INDIACom61295.2024.10499038(1419-1423)Online publication date: 28-Feb-2024
https://doi.org/10.23919/INDIACom61295.2024.10499038
Park ECheon J(2024)Exploring Debugging Challenges and Strategies Using Structural Topic Model: A Comparative Analysis of High and Low-Performing StudentsJournal of Educational Computing Research10.1177/0735633124129117462:8(2104-2126)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331241291174
Sun CYang SBecker B(2024)Debugging in Computational Thinking: A Meta-analysis on the Effects of Interventions on Debugging SkillsJournal of Educational Computing Research10.1177/0735633124122779362:4(1087-1121)Online publication date: 20-Jan-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331241227793
Yang SBaird MO’Rourke EBrennan KSchneider B(2024)Decoding Debugging Instruction: A Systematic Literature Review of Debugging InterventionsACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/369065224:4(1-44)Online publication date: 15-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3690652
Gilbert CMcDonald BScott M(2024)Exploring the Relationship between Debugging Self-Efficacy and CASE Tools for Novice TroubleshootingProceedings of the 2024 Conference on United Kingdom & Ireland Computing Education Research10.1145/3689535.3689556(1-7)Online publication date: 5-Sep-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3689535.3689556
Macneil SDenny PTran ALeinonen JBernstein SHellas ASarsa SKim J(2024)Decoding Logic Errors: A Comparative Study on Bug Detection by Students and Large Language ModelsProceedings of the 26th Australasian Computing Education Conference10.1145/3636243.3636245(11-18)Online publication date: 29-Jan-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3636243.3636245
Hassan MZeng GZilles C(2024)Evaluating How Novices Utilize Debuggers and Code Execution to Understand CodeProceedings of the 2024 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research - Volume 110.1145/3632620.3671126(65-83)Online publication date: 12-Aug-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3632620.3671126
Yang SZhao HXu YBrennan KSchneider B(2024)Debugging with an AI Tutor: Investigating Novice Help-seeking Behaviors and Perceived LearningProceedings of the 2024 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research - Volume 110.1145/3632620.3671092(84-94)Online publication date: 12-Aug-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3632620.3671092
Chen JLu XDu YRejtig MBagley RHorn MWilensky U(2024)Learning Agent-based Modeling with LLM Companions: Experiences of Novices and Experts Using ChatGPT & NetLogo ChatProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642377(1-18)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613904.3642377
Jayathirtha GFields DKafai Y(2024)Distributed debugging with electronic textiles: understanding high school student pairs’ problem-solving strategies, practices, and perspectives on repairing physical computing projectsComputer Science Education10.1080/08993408.2023.229773834:4(718-752)Online publication date: 21-Jan-2024
https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2023.2297738
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