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Programming skills: Visualization, interaction, home language and problem solving

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Abstract

As a novice, learning computer programming is challenging. It requires learners to be inquisitive and acquire skills to analyze problems to get to solutions critically. Unfortunately, students drop out of programming courses because students think that programming is difficult to understand. The student's understanding of the problem definition is one of the drawbacks that hinder them from accepting to solve problems. In addition to that, students also find the terminologies difficult to grasp. This study aims to determine whether visualization, interactivity, affective teaching, and the use of home language improve students' understanding. In this study, an application is designed to allow students to learn coding and their pre and the post-exam result was analyzed. The application incorporates animation, interaction, and examples in the home language. The result was tested at a 95% Confidence Level. It was found that the use of visualization and home language in teaching improves students' results and enhances their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

The application was developed in Adobe Flash with ActionScript 3.0 which is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The partial data in the result was presented at the 4th International Conference on Computer, Communication and Computational Sciences held on 11th and 12th of October in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, School of Sceince and Technology, The University of Fiji, Lautoka, Fiji

    Alvin Prasad

  2. School of Computing, Information and Mathematical Sciences, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji

    Kaylash Chaudhary & Bibhya Sharma

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  1. Alvin Prasad
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Prasad, A., Chaudhary, K. & Sharma, B. Programming skills: Visualization, interaction, home language and problem solving. Educ Inf Technol 27, 3197–3223 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10692-z

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