Effects of Computer Access and Flowcharting on Students' Attitudes and Performance in Learning Computer Programming

Abstract

Performance and attitudes in a high school programming course ( n = 72) were investigated as a function of degree of computer access (limited vs. unlimited); flowcharting usage (required vs. not required); and aptitude-treatment interactions (ATI's) involving these variables in combination with student gender and ability level. On four out of five performance measures, ATI results revealed a significant tendency for low-ability students to perform better under unlimited- than limited-access, and conversely for middle- to high-ability students. Regardless of computer-access level or student characteristics, the requirement to produce flowcharts negatively affected performance and attitudes. Only isolated gender effects were found. These and other findings are discussed with emphasis on their implications for teaching programming at the precollege level.