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Programming, Problem Solving, and Self-Awareness: Effects of Explicit Guidance

Authors:

Alannah Oleson,

Christopher J. Mendez,

Margaret M. BurnettAuthors Info & Claims

CHI '16: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Pages 1449 - 1461

https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858252

Published: 07 May 2016 Publication History

Abstract

More people are learning to code than ever, but most learning opportunities do not explicitly teach the problem solving skills necessary to succeed at open-ended programming problems. In this paper, we present a new approach to impart these skills, consisting of: 1) explicit instruction on programming problem solving, which frames coding as a process of translating mental representations of problems and solutions into source code, 2) a method of visualizing and monitoring progression through six problem solving stages, 3) explicit, on-demand prompts for learners to reflect on their strategies when seeking help from instructors, and 4) context-sensitive help embedded in a code editor that reinforces the problem solving instruction. We experimentally evaluated the effects of our intervention across two 2-week web development summer camps with 48 high school students, finding that the intervention increased productivity, independence, programming self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness, and growth mindset. We discuss the implications of these results on learning technologies and classroom instruction.

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Cited By

Sohail AAkram H(2025)The role of self-awareness and reflection in academic achievement: A psychological and Bayesian analysisPedagogical Research10.29333/pr/1568210:1(em0233)Online publication date: 2025
https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/15682
Arnedo-Moreno JGarcía-Solórzano D(2025)Programming Fun(damentals): Using commercial video games to teach basic coding to adult learnersEntertainment Computing10.1016/j.entcom.2024.10085052(100850)Online publication date: Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2024.100850
Türkmen GHopcan SPolat E(2024)Sustaining Undergraduate Students’ Metacognitive Regulatory Actions During Online Flipped Programming CourseJournal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age10.53850/joltida.13910399:2(111-128)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1391039
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Index Terms

Programming, Problem Solving, and Self-Awareness: Effects of Explicit Guidance
1. Human-centered computing
2. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Computing education
      1. Computing education programs
        Computer science education
        Information science education

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cover image ACM Conferences

CHI '16: Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 2016

6108 pages

ISBN:9781450333627

DOI:10.1145/2858036

General Chairs:
Jofish Kaye
Yahoo
,
Allison Druin
University of Maryland / National Park Service
,
Program Chairs:
Cliff Lampe
University of Michigan
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Dan Morris
Microsoft
,
Juan Pablo Hourcade
University of Iowa

Copyright © 2016 ACM.

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Published: 07 May 2016

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CHI'16: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

May 7 - 12, 2016

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CHI '16 Paper Acceptance Rate 565 of 2,435 submissions, 23%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 6,199 of 26,314 submissions, 24%

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Cited By

Sohail AAkram H(2025)The role of self-awareness and reflection in academic achievement: A psychological and Bayesian analysisPedagogical Research10.29333/pr/1568210:1(em0233)Online publication date: 2025
https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/15682
Arnedo-Moreno JGarcía-Solórzano D(2025)Programming Fun(damentals): Using commercial video games to teach basic coding to adult learnersEntertainment Computing10.1016/j.entcom.2024.10085052(100850)Online publication date: Jan-2025
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2024.100850
Türkmen GHopcan SPolat E(2024)Sustaining Undergraduate Students’ Metacognitive Regulatory Actions During Online Flipped Programming CourseJournal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age10.53850/joltida.13910399:2(111-128)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.53850/joltida.1391039
Poitras ECharles Crane BDempsey DSiegel AFarion C(2024)Programming Language Learning in K-12 EducationEmpowering STEM Educators With Digital Tools10.4018/979-8-3693-9806-7.ch010(227-260)Online publication date: 1-Nov-2024
https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-9806-7.ch010
Gilbert CMcDonald BScott M(2024)Exploring the Relationship between Debugging Self-Efficacy and CASE Tools for Novice TroubleshootingProceedings of the 2024 Conference on United Kingdom & Ireland Computing Education Research10.1145/3689535.3689556(1-7)Online publication date: 5-Sep-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3689535.3689556
Margulieux LPrather JReeves BBecker BCetin Uzun GLoksa DLeinonen JDenny PMonga MLonati VBarendsen ESheard JPaterson J(2024)Self-Regulation, Self-Efficacy, and Fear of Failure Interactions with How Novices Use LLMs to Solve Programming ProblemsProceedings of the 2024 on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3649217.3653621(276-282)Online publication date: 3-Jul-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3649217.3653621
Njoku AAmini MSharafi ZBaysal OLinares-Vasquez MMoran KSteinmacher I(2024)Innovating Coding: Evaluating the Impact of Innovative Thinking in ProgrammingProceedings of the 32nd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Program Comprehension10.1145/3643916.3644397(241-245)Online publication date: 15-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3643916.3644397
Amini MOlson JSharafi ZRoychoudhury APaiva AAbreu RStorey MHierons RMadeira H(2024)Coding with a Creative Twist: Investigating the Link Between Creativity Scores and problem-solving StrategiesProceedings of the 2024 ACM/IEEE 44th International Conference on Software Engineering: New Ideas and Emerging Results10.1145/3639476.3639766(21-25)Online publication date: 14-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3639476.3639766
Cloude EKumar PBaker RFouh E(2024)Novice programmers inaccurately monitor the quality of their work and their peers’ work in an introductory computer science courseProceedings of the 14th Learning Analytics and Knowledge Conference10.1145/3636555.3636848(35-45)Online publication date: 18-Mar-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3636555.3636848
Hassan MZeng GZilles C(2024)Evaluating How Novices Utilize Debuggers and Code Execution to Understand CodeProceedings of the 2024 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research - Volume 110.1145/3632620.3671126(65-83)Online publication date: 12-Aug-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3632620.3671126
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