Pattern-oriented instruction and its influence on problem decomposition and solution construction

Abstract

Novices often experience difficulties in problem analysis and solution construction. Pattern-oriented instruction (POI) is a pedagogical approach based on incorporating patterns into instruction design. It is well-grounded in cognitive theories concerning knowledge construction and organization as well as the acquisition of expertise in problem solving. We show that the incorporation of algorithmic patterns through POI may enhance the construction of algorithmic problem-solving knowledge. Findings of a comparative research study showed that novices who studied according to the POI approach exhibited better problem-solving competence than those who studied in a traditional manner. Specifically, they were more competent in problem decomposition and solution construction.

Qualitative Analyses of Movements Between Task-level and Code-level Thinking of Novice Programmers

“…More recent studies have also explored how students engaged in plan-composition when explicitly taught planning strategies, such as de Raadt et al's work on teaching students a "strategy guide" for integrating plans [5]. Muller et al talks about pattern-oriented instruction in which students are taught to attach labels to programming patterns and to look for common patterns across problems [10]. Our work additionally looks at how students navigate between tasks and code in the context of having a multi-step design recipe for approaching problems, particularly in situations when they get stuck in their programming process, perhaps due to not having plans or patterns to retrieve for novel problem-tasks.…”

Code Complexity in Introductory Programming Courses

“…The application of this work in computing pedagogy, however, leads to courses that focus on pattern acquisition [2]. Errors, in this model, occur when a schema is applied in an unfamiliar context or modified in a way that reveals a flaw in the learner's understanding of the elements that compose the schema [38,40,41]. After a break in the 90's, the idea has seen increased interest, with new work using schema theory to identify complex tasks or particularly difficult elements of courses, much like the work in data mining [42,43,44].…”

Teaching abstraction in introductory courses

“…Nested while-loops generate a lot of mistakes. For example [13] presents an interesting overview and analysis of problems students have with a nested loop that is similar to the one discussed here. In an experiment novices did not usually recognize the need for a nested loop.…”

“…For example in [13], which reports about an empirical study of the problems students have with a similar nested loop, it has not been found. That is not surprising.…”