A study by a ITiCSE 2001 working group ("the McCracken Group") established that many students do not know how to program at the conclusion of their introductory courses. A popular explanation for this incapacity is that the students lack the ability to problem-solve. That is, they lack the ability to take a problem description, decompose it into sub-problems and implement them, then assemble the pieces into a complete solution. An alternative explanation is that many students have a fragile grasp of both basic programming principles and the ability to systematically carry out routine programming tasks, such as tracing (or "desk checking") through code. This ITiCSE 2004 working group studied the alternative explanation, by testing students from seven countries, in two ways. First, students were tested on their ability to predict the outcome of executing a short piece of code. Second, students were tested on their ability, when given the desired function of short piece of nearcomplete code, to select the correct completion of the code from a small set of possibilities. Many students were weak at these tasks, especially the latter task, suggesting that such students have a fragile grasp of skills that are a prerequisite for problemsolving.

A study by a ITiCSE 2001 working group ("the McCracken Group") established that many students do not know how to program at the conclusion of their introductory courses. A popular explanation for this incapacity is that the students lack the ability to problem-solve. That is, they lack the ability to take a problem description, decompose it into sub-problems and implement them, then assemble the pieces into a complete solution. An alternative explanation is that many students have a fragile grasp of both basic programming principles and the ability to systematically carry out routine programming tasks, such as tracing (or "desk checking") through code. This ITiCSE 2004 working group studied the alternative explanation, by testing students from seven countries, in two ways. First, students were tested on their ability to predict the outcome of executing a short piece of code. Second, students were tested on their ability, when given the desired function of short piece of nearcomplete code, to select the correct completion of the code from a small set of possibilities. Many students were weak at these tasks, especially the latter task, suggesting that such students have a fragile grasp of skills that are a pre-requisite for problemsolving.124

Increased class sizes are forcing academics to reconsider approaches to setting and marking assessments for their students. Distributed and distance learning are creating some of the biggest changes. Some educators are embracing new technologies but others are more wary of what they do not know. In order to address this issue it is first necessary to investigate the types of assessment currently in use and the perceptions that are held by academics with and without experience of the new technologies that are becoming available.

Increased class sizes are forcing academics to reconsider approaches to setting and marking assessments for their students. Distributed and distance learning are creating some of the biggest changes. Some educators are embracing new technologies but others are more wary of what they do not know. In order to address this issue it is first necessary to investigate the types of assessment currently in use and the perceptions that are held by academics with and without experience of the new technologies that are becoming available.

Working Group 3 at ITiCSE 2007 continued the ongoing work of the Ontology of Computing project. The working group brought several new people into the project and addressed areas of the ontology of particular interest to these participants. In particular, the group worked on the Ontology sections related to History of Computing, Computing Security and Social and Ethical issues. With the intention of applying the ontology to the support of curriculum development in mind, the group also reviewed and discussed proposed means of presenting a visual representation of the ontology. There was also some work on the present structure of the ontology and future possibilities.