Should freshman engineering students be taught a programming language?

Bjedov, G.; Andersen, P. K.

doi:10.1109/fie.1996.567995

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…While these concepts are valuable, they do not replace the fundamental programming skills needed by embedded systems engineers, and they tend to dilute the programming aspects of the course from the embedded systems perspective. There are other effective techniques to teach problem solving using the computer that can be incorporated into other parts of the curriculum [1,4]. Also, OO approaches are not applicable to all engineering disciplines including some embedded applications [14].…”

Section: Typical Ece Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is quite common for these courses to serve a multipurpose role within the curriculum covering all sorts of topics including teaching programming language syntax [1,3,15], problem solving [4,14], teaming [4], communication skills [4], program design [4], algorithm design, and object-oriented (OO) programming techniques. While these concepts are valuable, they do not replace the fundamental programming skills needed by embedded systems engineers, and they tend to dilute the programming aspects of the course from the embedded systems perspective.…”

Section: Typical Ece Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Incorporating embedded programming skills into an ECE curriculum

2007

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In this paper, the typical electrical and computer engineering (ECE) curriculum is examined to determine its effectiveness at presenting embedded programming skills. The software concepts and programming techniques necessary for embedded systems are somewhat different than those seen in other engineering domains. Thus, it makes sense to specifically address embedded programming needs within the formal programming education ECE students receive. Several topical areas of concern are identified, and two possible ways to incorporate these areas into an ECE curriculum are presented. The experiences gained within the ECE curriculum at The University of Alabama are presented and are used to develop recommendations for incorporating these topics into typical ECE curricula.

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Section: Typical Ece Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Typical Ece Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporating embedded programming skills into an ECE curriculum

2007

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“…Previously, practicing engineers had to perform coding in a high-level programming language such as FORTRAN or C, but currently many engineers do not need to write their own software 1 . MATLAB, however, is extremely prevalent in engineering industry and research due to its relative ease of use for students when compared to other programming languages 1 . A general trend in programming instruction for engineers has evolved from FORTRAN, to C/C++, and now to MATLAB 3 , 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Development of Programming Skills Using MATLAB within an Undergraduate Dynamics Course

Rhudy¹,

Nathan²

2016 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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This project introduces a method of teaching undergraduate students MATLAB programming within a typical engineering lecture course, dynamics. This particular course was chosen because its content offers natural connections between engineering and programming concepts. The MATLAB programming instruction and assignments were approached through the context of the dynamics course material. This allowed students to make connections between their typical dynamics course content and the more abstract programming concepts which can sometimes be difficult for them to understand. This idea was indicated to be effective through anonymous student comments from student evaluations.

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“…In this NSF funded project, different cognitive skills are focused at each of five stages of SLA with the implementation of associated instructional strategies in an Introduction to Computing for Engineers course at a private institution in the southeast 14 . The course teaches engineering students how to learn a programming language, MATLAB in a blended learning mode [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] . This paper describes the design, implementation of the project across three semesters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Application of Second Language Acquisition to Programming Language Study

Sun¹,

Frederick-Recascino²,

Ding³

et al.

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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This paper describes a design and implementation of a Second Language Acquisition in a Blended Learning (SLA-aBLe) project that aims to examine the efficacy of SLA approaches for teaching programming language. The project, which has been running for three semesters, modifies specific learning modules in a programming language class using a series of shorter videos with subtitles, online quizzes with tiered questions and comments, and a topic specified discussion board with Q&A sections. The SLA aspect of the SLA-aBLe study is emphasized through the use of strategies defined as best-practice SLA techniques, such as the inclusion of self-testing tired questions and visual-aided explanation in screencasts, more online programming writing assessment, more collaboration, and 'speak aloud' in labs. A series of surveys assessing students' perceptions, attitudes, and satisfaction of students in the SLA-aBLe, and control groups were analyzed. Their academic performance on exam scores was compared. A random group of students were selected and interviewed face-to-face each semester to understand the effectiveness of the SLA-aBLe design. Assessment results confirmed the effectiveness of SLA-aBLe design. IntroductionProgramming language is a common mandatory course taught in the first year of engineering and computer science programs. These types of courses typically utilize a common programming language (MATLAB, C, Java) to teach students about syntax and programming techniques and to introduce students to applied problem solving [1][2][3][4] . Learning a computer programming language has been known to be difficult for high-school and university students because of the lack of time for practice 5 , in addition to the conceptual complexity of the topic and logical reasoning processes required for understanding. Programming courses are critical to the learning needs of students in STEM majors, as they provide students with problem solving skills that are easily transferrable and contextually relevant to math and science courses in the curriculum.

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Should freshman engineering students be taught a programming language?

Cited by 11 publications

References 1 publication

Incorporating embedded programming skills into an ECE curriculum

Incorporating embedded programming skills into an ECE curriculum

Integrated Development of Programming Skills Using MATLAB within an Undergraduate Dynamics Course

The Application of Second Language Acquisition to Programming Language Study

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