| |
Record |
Links |
|
Type |
Carver, S.M.C.; Risinger, S.C. |
| |
Title |
Improving Children's Debugging Skills |
Type |
Book Chapter |
| |
Year |
1987 |
Publication |
Empirical Studies of Programmers: Second Workshop |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
147-171 |
|
| |
Keywords |
|
|
| |
Abstract |
Expert programmers use a wide variety of high-level problem-solving skills to deal effectively with diverse programming tasks. The hope that children might develop some of these high-level skills has inspired many parents and educators to advocate the inclusion of computer programming, usually Logo, in the school curriculum. Despite the intuitive appeal of this campaign and the vote of confidence many school districts have given in the form of computer equipment, researchers have found strikingly little evidence that children are developing any general problem-solving skills form their programming experiences. Our thesis is that children can indeed develop such skills if educators specify the skill components and teach them explicitly. Carver and Klahr (1) specified the components of debugging skill in the form of a computer simulation model, and Carver (2) designed a debugging curriculum to teach the specific components directly. We gave this explicit debugging instruction to 18 sixth graders in the context of a 25 hour Logo list-processing course over a four month period while 17 of their classmates were in study hall. After instruction, the Logo students' debugging speed and efficiency improved because they learned to narrow their search for bugs. We also found that the children who acquired effective debugging skills in the Logo course improved more on transfer tasks involving debugging written instructions than students who did not take the Logo course. We suggest that using a detailed model of a problem-solving skill as the basis for explicit instruction could be an effective methodology for fostering other high-level programming skills such as problem decomposition, procedurality, or planning. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
Ablex Publishing Corporation |
Place of Publication |
Norwood, New Jersey |
Editor |
Olson, G.M.; Sheppard, S.; Soloway, E. |
|
| |
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ Carver1987 |
Serial |
8884 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
