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