IDE Tools for Novice Programmers -Arthur Lewis (alew525)
Feb 23, 2016
IDE Tools for Novice Programmers
-Arthur Lewis (alew525)
ContentsBackground and IntroductionOverview of Popular EnvironmentsEmpirical Studies
Borland Delphi v/s SimplifIDEGild v/s EclipseBlueJ
Eclipse and other IDEsDiscussion
IntroductionProgramming is not easy for new comers to
graspMoreover, exposure to a professional
development environment/IDE can be an added burden
A number of pedagogical IDEs have been designed to address this issue
Overview of Popular EnvironmentsFrom current studies, BlueJ and DrJava are
the most popular pedagogic environmentsBoth have been designed for novice
programmers picking up JavaDrJava focused on providing a less
“intimidating” interface as compared to Eclipse
BlueJ focused on simplifying the learning of OO concepts via a visual interface
Overview of Popular EnvironmentsDrJava’s prominent feature is a read-eval-
print (RELP) loopIntuitive testing and debugging capabilities
also supported along with error detectionHowever, no research done to test its
effectivenessEmpirical studies are a must to ascertain its
actual impact with respect to learning
Overview of Popular EnvironmentsBlueJ had a visual interface designed to make OO concepts
in Java easier for novicesAnother study compared the features of BlueJ with DrJava
Main Window of the BlueJ Interface (Source: Kölling, M., Quig, B., Patterson, A., & Rosenberg, J. (2003). The BlueJ system and its pedagogy. Computer Science Education, 13(4), 249-268.)
Overview of Popular EnvironmentsOther tools included Penumbra, DrScheme
and GildPenumbra was designed for Eclipse but never
really took offDrScheme’s purpose was to simplify the
functional programming language SchemeResearchers made claims which require
empirical evidence to support validityGild was made to create a “Student
Perspective” for Eclipse
Borland Delphi v/s SimplifIDETwo related studies (part of the same work)
compared a pedagogical environment (SimplifIDE) with a professional one (Borland Delphi)
Studied 2 groups: treatment and controlTook students academic abilities into account
based on past performance by implicitly classifying them into two further categories
Borland Delphi v/s SimplifIDEOne study focused on academic performance
and programming behavior of studentsThe other study took into account the perceived
sense of learning derived by studentsResults:
Weaker students benefited more from the pedagogical environment
Improved programming behavior observed in weaker students
Overall academic performance remained unaffected
Borland Delphi v/s SimplifIDECategorizing the students into weak and
strong categories was a crucial aspect of this study
The sample size was adequately large and the study was conducted in a naturalistic environment
Some students opted outChoice of pedagogical environments doesn’t
affect academic performance
Gild v/s EclipseStudy considered metrics such as efficiency,
effectiveness, understanding and satisfactionHypothesized Gild will perform better than
EclipseConsisted of problems followed by a
qualitative feedback to measure understanding and satisfaction
Students preferred Gild over Eclipse
Gild v/s EclipseStudy sample was small (N=6)Participation was voluntarySome students were familiar with other IDE
toolsStudents had trouble using some complex
features of Eclipse such as a debuggerCustomizing Eclipse’s interface to help
students would lower its standards as a professional IDE
Empirical Studies: BlueJOne study tested BlueJ in an academic settingAn initial evaluation using a beta versionStudents were reported to have a higher
passing rate as compared to previous yearsHowever, this was the first time Java was
taught and BlueJ was being usedSecond evaluation evaluated students
understanding of abstract OO concepts
Empirical Studies: BlueJStudents pursuing their second programming
unit were asked to complete a surveyResults were positiveStudy claimed students had a better
comprehension of the study materialMore evidence is needed to support these
claims
Empirical Studies: BlueJAnother study compared BlueJ with TextPadSample populated comprised students of
different disciplinesOpting out wasn’t an optionCourse was taught in two sections, one using
BlueJ and the other with TextPadTwo different samples were used for each
section
Empirical Studies: BlueJStudent performance was assessedBlueJ didn’t have a significant impact on
student performanceStudents liked some features of the
environmentSample size was small i.e. within the 10-17
rangeSample had students from non computing
disciplines
Eclipse and Other Professional IDESSome researchers argue that Eclipse or other
IDE tools are suited for classroom purposesHowever these studies had limitations:
Small sample sizeMental manipulation of students
One of them did agree with the notion of academic performance being independent of the IDE
Discussion and ConclusionMost of the existing pedagogical
environments support OO languages (preferably Java)
More empirical analysis needed to ascertain their limitations and actual impact on learning
An individual’s programming aptitude is strongly related to his/her analytical skills
Tools may affect programming behaviors
Thank You!!!
Questions