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Annual Conference of the Southern African Computer Lecturers' Association

SACLA 2022: ICT Education pp 129–148Cite as

Nested-Decider: An Animation Program for Aiding Teaching and Learning of Decisions/Nested Decisions

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Part of the Communications in Computer and Information Science book series (CCIS,volume 1664)

Abstract

Introductory programming can be challenging for teachers to teach and students to learn. Some of the learning challenges are linked to students’ inadequate prior programming background. As a result, introductory programming students commit syntactical or logical errors. Animation programs have been suggested and used as aiding tools for teaching and learning introductory programming concepts. However existing animation programs for teaching introductory programming concepts are limited, tend to focus on K12 computing education and are too generic. In this study, we developed a special animation program called Nested-Decider. Nested-Decider is a teaching and learning aid program for decisions/nested decisions, especially for struggling students studying text-based programming. In order to test Nested-Decider, we adopted an action research methodology where the actual struggling introductory programming students from the university participated. We grouped struggling students into experimental and control groups, where the experimental group was taught decision-statements with Nested-Decider and the control group was taught without Nested-Decider. Through pre-teaching and post-teaching algorithm exercises, we compared the results between the two groups and found significant improvement in the experimental group.

Keywords

  • Teaching
  • Learning
  • Introductory programming
  • Animations
  • Decision statements
  • Nested decision statements
  • Struggling students
  • Comprehension

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tshwane University of Technology, Aubrey Matlala Road, Soshanguve, 0152, South Africa

    Tlou Ramabu

  2. University of South Africa, Florida, 1034, South Africa

    Ian Sanders & Marthie Schoeman

Authors
  1. Tlou Ramabu
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  2. Ian Sanders
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  3. Marthie Schoeman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tlou Ramabu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Richard J. Barnett

  2. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Daniel B. le Roux

  3. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Douglas A. Parry

  4. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Bruce W. Watson

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Ramabu, T., Sanders, I., Schoeman, M. (2022). Nested-Decider: An Animation Program for Aiding Teaching and Learning of Decisions/Nested Decisions. In: Barnett, R.J., le Roux, D.B., Parry, D.A., Watson, B.W. (eds) ICT Education. SACLA 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1664. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21076-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21076-1_8

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