A survey of literature on the teaching of introductory programming

TLDR

Despite three decades of research across education and cognitive science, introductory programming teaching has seen limited classroom impact because disciplinary differences and the absence of a comprehensive survey have made findings largely inaccessible to computing educators. This paper aims to compile, classify, and disseminate key research on introductory programming so that computing educators and professional bodies can readily apply evidence‑based practices. The authors systematically review the literature, classify studies, assess research quality with ITiCSE metrics, and identify gaps in coverage.

Abstract

Three decades of active research on the teaching of introductory programming has had limited effect on classroom practice. Although relevant research exists across several disciplines including education and cognitive science, disciplinary differences have made this material inaccessible to many computing educators. Furthermore, computer science instructors have not had access to a comprehensive survey of research in this area. This paper collects and classifies this literature, identifies important work and mediates it to computing educators and professional bodies. We identify research that gives well-supported advice to computing academics teaching introductory programming. Limitations and areas of incomplete coverage of existing research efforts are also identified. The analysis applies publication and research quality metrics developed by a previous ITiCSE working group [74].