Pair programming improves student retention, confidence, and program quality

Abstract

Pair programming produces more proficient, confident programmers-and may help increase female representation in the field.In recent years, the growth of extreme programming (XP) has brought considerable attention to collaborative programming. Developed over a fifteen year period by Kent Beck and his colleagues, Ron Jeffries and Ward Cunningham[1], XP is a computer software development approach that credits much of its success to the use of pair programming by all programmers, regardless of experience [2]. The pair programming dimension of XP requires that teams of two programmers work simultaneously on the same design, algorithm, code, or test. Sitting shoulder to shoulder at one computer, one member of the pair is the "designated driver," actively creating code and controlling the keyboard and mouse. The "non-driver" constantly reviews the keyed data in order to identify tactical and strategic deficiencies, including erroneous syntax and logic, misspellings, and implementations that don't map to the design. After a designated period of time, the partners reverse roles. Code produced by only one partner is discarded, or reviewed collaboratively before it is integrated.Women and minorities continue to be underrepresented in computer science, and the number of women pursuing college majors in this area is declining. In 1985, 37% of computer science bachelor's degrees were awarded to women; in 2001 that percentage was down to 28% [3]. A number of variables have been proposed to account for this gender difference, including traditional socialization practices that reinforce math and science as male domains, lower confidence ratings and greater math anxiety among women, and women's tendency to take fewer advanced mathematics courses. The belief that computer science is a competitive, alienating field may further discourage women from pursuing careers in this area [4].Pair programming, when used as a form of collaborative learning, has been shown to increase the number of women (and men) persisting in their previously stated intent to pursue degrees in computer science. In addition, paired teams have been found to significantly outperform individual programmers in terms of program functionality and readability, to report greater satisfaction with the problem-solving process, to have greater confidence in their solutions, and to be more likely to complete a programming assignment [5]. Nevertheless, many instructors continue to require students to complete programming assignments independently. Presumably, continued reliance on solo programming in academic settings is rooted in instructor concern that at least one of the partners in a pair will not learn as much as they would if they completed the assignment alone. In the worst case, one member of the pair might do essentially all of the work. Although this would not be "pair programming," it is often difficult, if not impossible, to monitor how students actually spend their programming time and how closely they are following the pairing protocol.

Comparativa de Abordajes de Cursos Introductorios de Programación

“…Otra alternativa propuesta es la realización de prácticas de programación de manera colaborativa [10], éstas difieren principalmente en la forma y en el número de participantes que se asigna a la actividad. Dos ejemplos de estas prácticas son, la programación por parejas en la cual se busca promover la cooperación entre programadores [21][27] y la colaboración en equipos como puede ser Coding Dojo Randori [28] , existe un problema a resolver y un grupo de alumnos a los que se asigna la tarea, dos integrantes del grupo comienzan realizando programación de a pares y en intervalos regulares de tiempo uno de los dos integrantes es reemplazado, esta técnica provoca que todos los participantes deben prestar suma atención ya que desconocen en qué momento les tocará tomar el mando y continuar programando.…”

Improving Female Student Retention in Computer Science during the First Programming Course

“…The main rationale behind this is that some students change their majors after taking the first course from computer science [9].…”

“…In reference [16], the authors found out that pair programming increased the number of students continuing taking the class and pass rates. This also yields to higher quality of programs, more confidentiality in their work, and more enjoyable time when writing codes [16].…”

“…This also yields to higher quality of programs, more confidentiality in their work, and more enjoyable time when writing codes [16]. Moreover, the authors claimed that the students who paired are more likely to pass the subsequent programming course that required them to work alone [16].…”

Collaborative Learning Eliminates the Negative Impact of Gender Stereotypes on Women’s Self-Concept

“…This collaborative experience is known to enhance students' confidence in their computer programming abilities, is perceived as more enjoyable than working in isolation, and enhances performance and course completion, which is linked with persistence in computing. 3,15,16,14 In addition to their overall effectiveness, collaborative instruction methods, such as supplemental instruction and pair programming, have important advantages in terms of overcoming obstacles faced by underrepresented students in computing. Specifically, these interventions provide a supportive and relatively informal atmosphere, addressing the sense of isolation reported by many underrepresented students, 25 and boosting confidence and performance among those students.…”