Marthie Schoeman
ABSTRACT
Introductory programming modules frequently have a low pass rate. This paper reports on an attempt to address this issue by introducing an interactive program visualization tutorial in the course material for an introductory programming module at the University of South-Africa (Unisa). The tutorial aimed to assist first-year programming students in an open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) environment in learning how to trace programs. To investigate the impact thereof students completed a questionnaire on their use of the tutorial, which were analysed in combination with their final marks for the module. This was repeated over two semesters.
The findings indicated that the tutorial did not have the desired effect in the ODeL environment. Students' educational background had a far larger impact on their final marks than their tutorial use, emphasising the real need to take educational background into account when developing course material, particularly in ODeL.
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