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    Examining the impact of the ethnoscience teaching philosophy on academic performance in introductory computer programming
    (2021-09-20) Sofowora, Mayowa A.; Eyono Obono, Seraphin Desire
    The mastery of the core technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) seems to require a set of skills that are reputed to be difficult to learn. This also includes general STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related know- how where computer programming is considered by many as the new linking glue of the 4IR despite its reputation of being difficult to learn and to master. 4IR is credited with a wide range of advantages, such as improved production, communication and participation, but it also comes with several disadvantages, such as the widening of the digital divide and higher levels of unemployment, especially for unskilled people. In fact, computer programming and other STEM related skills are crucial for the optimization of the benefits of the 4IR and for the minimization of its disadvantages. This is why this study is examining the impact of a different type of teaching approach known as the ethnoscience teaching approach, a STEM teaching philosophy, on students’ academic performance in introductory computer programming. A content analysis of existing literature on academic performance factors was first undertaken, both for introductory programming and for STEM subjects, in order to design an aggregated theoretically sound model of academic performance factors for these two fields. That model was then partially empirically tested by this study first within a totally culturally neutral teaching approach, then with a quasi- experiment whose experimental group was taught and tested with the use of the ethnoscientific teaching approach and philosophy while the control group stayed with the conventional culturally neutral teaching approach. The results of this study indicate that the ethnoscience teaching approach significantly improves students' academic performance in introductory computer programming compared to the conventional teaching approach. They also indicate that students’ prior language and computing subject choices affect their performance in conventional but not in culturally sensitive introductory computer programming. The participants of this study were selected from the introductory programming 2018 class of the IT Department of the Durban University of Technology. Should the findings of this study be confirmed with more programming concepts and with different samples, they will confirm the intrinsic value of culturally sensitive computing education.
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    An investigation of the impact of human cognition on the acquisition of computer programming skills by students at a university
    (2008) Ranjeeth, Sanjay
    This study aimed to explore the impact of cognitive ability on the understanding of computer programming by students enrolled for a programming course at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The rationale for this study is provided by the general perception held by the academic community that computer programming is a difficult faculty to master. This assertion is corroborated by reports of high failure rates in computer programming courses at tertiary institutes. A literature review was undertaken to investigate the contribution of other factors on the ability to achieve competence in computer programmer. Based on the outcome of the literature review, this study argues that cognitive ability warrants a higher priority relative to the other factors. As a strategy, cognitive science theory was consulted to establish a framework to quantify competency in computer programming. On the basis of this endeavour, two protocols were identified to facilitate the quantification process. The first was the “deep and surface” protocol used in previous studies to ascertain students’ cognitive style of understanding for computer programming. The second was an error analysis framework which was developed as part of the current study. These protocols were used as frameworks to underpin the data collection phase of the study. This study found that at least 50% of the students enrolled in a computer programming course adopt a superficial approach to the understanding of computer programming. In order to explain this phenomenon, a cognitive ability test was administered. Here it was established that at least 39% of these students have not reached a level of cognitive development that will enable the invocation of abstract thought. The study also found that this inability to handle abstractionism, an essential requirement for success in computer programming, is reflected in the severity of errors made in computer programming assessment tasks.