Evaluating the Effect of Program Visualization on Student Motivation

Abstract

An increase in student motivation is often cited as an expected effect of software visualization, but, as far as the authors are aware, no controlled experiments have yet demonstrated this. This paper therefore presents a controlled evaluation of this effect, conducted within the framework of self-determination theory. Students were tasked with removing redundant recursion in a multiple recursive algorithm. The experimental group (N=19) used the SRec program visualization system, while the control group (N=17) could use any programming tool in which they were proficient, such as BlueJ or Eclipse. The increase in motivation was measured by the difference between student scores in preand post-tests of their motivation. Statistically significant increases were observed for the two more determined forms of motivation, intrinsic motivation (p=.01) and extrinsic motivation via identified regulation (p=.03). Student feedback about their subjective acceptance of SRec reinforced these results. These findings give experimental support to expectations for software visualization in terms of motivation. Several paths for future work are identified, in particular, the need for more experiments under various conditions to achieve deeper understanding of the motivational effect of program visualization.

A systematic literature review of student engagement in software visualization: a theoretical perspective

“…ET has historically been one of the most commonly used evaluation frameworks (Banerjee, Murthy, & Iyer, 2015;Velázquez-Iturbide et al, 2017). Even though previous studies measured the effect of engagement level on learning outcomes, their results were not consistent (Banerjee et al, 2015).…”

“…The evidence suggests that student engagement is an important factor for designing and building an effective and successful SV tool (Isohanni & Järvinen, 2014;Naps et al, 2003;Sorva et al, 2013;Urquiza-Fuentes & Velázquez-Iturbide, 2013;Velázquez-Iturbide, Hernán-Losada, & Paredes-Velasco, 2017). However, there is still a need for exploring the role of engagement with SV (Sirkiä & Sorva, 2015;Sorva et al, 2013).…”

“…Most of these theories are used to suggest a design technique or principles when constructing the artifact. Besides, in Velázquez-Iturbide et al (2017) employed the theory in his study to explain the relationships between the constructs. The study focused on the impact of PV on student motivation based on the selfdetermination theory.…”

Social Worked-Examples Technique to Enhance Student Engagement in Program Visualization

“…Constructivism Previous studies have observed the lack of discussion about the theoretical framework that lies behind the design and development of PV (14)(15)(16). The lack of theory and framework in the development of artefacts has long been argued in the literature on CER and educational technology (17,18).…”

An Intelligent Tutoring System to Facilitate the Learning of Programming through the Usage of Dynamic Graphic Visualizations

“…Thus, the conversion of more complex programs into others that are more accessible and less intimidating is possible. The use of 2D visualizations has a positive effect on the learning process, from an increase in the motivation [12] and participation of the students in the class [13] to the comprehension of programming concepts [14]. Alternatively, the use of 3D graphic representations provides multiple benefits to the user, from the use of three-dimensional spaces to take advantage of spatial memory capacities, in order to understand and help to remember the structure of the programs [15], to visualizing a bigger amount of program information [16], among other possibilities.…”