Diversity and Motivation in Introductory Programming

Abstract

The number of students entering Higher Education in the UK continues to increase, and there is no sign of an end to this trend. This expansion brings with it a more diverse student body -students are diverse in terms of their prior experiences, their pre-existing skills, their expectations and their motivations. This highly varied student body often encounters a teaching regime that was designed for a smaller, and much more homogeneous, group of students.

Eliminating Plagiarism in Programming Courses through Assessment Design

“…Jenkins et al observed that students in a programming course are usually from different majors and background and that this diversity tended to increase over time [16]. The diverse student population creates major challenges in…”

Informing Potential Computing Students

“…First, computing schools need to realize that there are potential problems with subjects such as programming in that many students (especially females) find the subject boring or difficult (see also, Bornat, 1987, Stein, 1998, and Jenkins and Davy, 2000. Second, computing schools must ensure that the information they present to prospective students clearly describes the degree content in plain language and that the degree of emphasis on different subjects is clear.…”

“…It is commonly reported that students find programming difficult (Jenkins and Davy, 2000) or that teaching it effectively is challenging (Fincher 1999) and various suggestions are given for making programming classes better (Bornat, 1987, Stein, 1998, Jenkins and Davy, 2000. The existence of unhappy computing students is a problem because in some countries there is a shortage of people with computing skills (von Hellens andNielsen, 2001, Hill andKnowlton andNexus Research, 2001).…”

Mass production of individual feedback

“…Jenkins [3] points to student diversity, poor motivation and low student expectation in an attempt to understand why programming is so difficult to teach. It is not uncommon for a class taking their first course on programming to have vastly different prior experiences and pre-existing skills.…”