Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application
Novice programming is a challenging subject to teach and learn. However, programming is an essential skill that is required by many majors apart from Computer Science. The challenges in a novice programming subject change according to the programming language used. At the beginning of the 90s, t...
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
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2019
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| Online Access: | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1742/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1742/1/SimTY%20thinking_in_imperative_or_objects___tale_.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848802123838390272 |
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| author | Sim, Tze Ying * |
| author_facet | Sim, Tze Ying * |
| author_sort | Sim, Tze Ying * |
| building | SU Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Novice programming is a challenging subject to teach and learn. However, programming is an essential skill
that is required by many majors apart from Computer
Science. The challenges in a novice programming subject
change according to the programming language used. At
the beginning of the 90s, the object-oriented programming
was introduced. Detienne claimed that it is easier for programmers to program using the object-first approach as
humans think naturally in objects. The IEEE and ACM joint
task force on Computing Curriculum proposed two tracks of
curriculum, one for imperative-first and the other for objectfirst implementation. However, most of the work conducted on novice programming focused on the issues of syntax errors, reducing the possibilities of syntax error through a new or adapted programming environment. This paper will present the preliminary work to investigate if students will naturally think in objects or a series of steps. Three intervention methods were implemented in three different workshops. The intervention methods are the object-first, the imperative-first and the problem-solving-first. The students are then requested to design an application. Through the design, the research will identify if the students use the object-first or the imperative-first design. Assuming that the object-first intervention group will design primarily in objects, and the imperative-first intervention group in a series of steps, the problem-solving intervention will be the ”neutral” group. The object-first design is reflected through the attributes and methods of a particular object. The imperative-first design is identified if the solution contains a series of steps. The findings show that most of the students designed the application using a series of steps reflecting
the imperative-first design. This finding should be included when considering if imperative-first or object-first should be the way forward for a novice programming subject. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:18:21Z |
| format | Conference or Workshop Item |
| id | sunway-1742 |
| institution | Sunway University |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:18:21Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | sunway-17422021-04-26T04:06:02Z http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1742/ Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application Sim, Tze Ying * QA76 Computer software Novice programming is a challenging subject to teach and learn. However, programming is an essential skill that is required by many majors apart from Computer Science. The challenges in a novice programming subject change according to the programming language used. At the beginning of the 90s, the object-oriented programming was introduced. Detienne claimed that it is easier for programmers to program using the object-first approach as humans think naturally in objects. The IEEE and ACM joint task force on Computing Curriculum proposed two tracks of curriculum, one for imperative-first and the other for objectfirst implementation. However, most of the work conducted on novice programming focused on the issues of syntax errors, reducing the possibilities of syntax error through a new or adapted programming environment. This paper will present the preliminary work to investigate if students will naturally think in objects or a series of steps. Three intervention methods were implemented in three different workshops. The intervention methods are the object-first, the imperative-first and the problem-solving-first. The students are then requested to design an application. Through the design, the research will identify if the students use the object-first or the imperative-first design. Assuming that the object-first intervention group will design primarily in objects, and the imperative-first intervention group in a series of steps, the problem-solving intervention will be the ”neutral” group. The object-first design is reflected through the attributes and methods of a particular object. The imperative-first design is identified if the solution contains a series of steps. The findings show that most of the students designed the application using a series of steps reflecting the imperative-first design. This finding should be included when considering if imperative-first or object-first should be the way forward for a novice programming subject. 2019 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed text en cc_by_nc_4 http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1742/1/SimTY%20thinking_in_imperative_or_objects___tale_.pdf Sim, Tze Ying * (2019) Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application. In: IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Education, 10-13 December 2019, Yogjakarta, Indonesia. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9225966 |
| spellingShingle | QA76 Computer software Sim, Tze Ying * Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application |
| title | Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application |
| title_full | Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application |
| title_fullStr | Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application |
| title_short | Thinking in imperative or objects? A study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application |
| title_sort | thinking in imperative or objects? a study on how novice programmer thinks when it comes to designing an application |
| topic | QA76 Computer software |
| url | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1742/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1742/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/1742/1/SimTY%20thinking_in_imperative_or_objects___tale_.pdf |