New Perspectives in Science Education

Computer programming is a valuable, cross-disciplinary skill that attracts a diverse crowd of students. In the same course, we usually get Computer Science (CS) and non-CS students who bring mixed-abilities and needs to the classroom. These students need to do a lot of practice in order to develop good programming skills. Unless students are properly motivated, they will likely to feel bored and overwhelmed, resulting in high failure and attrition rates.
Most (if not all) students love video games, and usually they are also interested in developing them. This paper describes our experience after redesigning an introductory computer programming course in which we teach programming fundamentals by developing 2D games and creating algorithmic animations using Processing, an environment that uses simplified Java syntax to create algorithmic drawings, animations, and games. Compelling exercises were prepared with the key objective to motivate students to learn because they are interested, not because they have to. The visual element in these exercises allowed students to easily spot mistakes in their code as displayed in the graphical output.The new design was used in a mixed-ability, first-year course over two offerings. The results have shown that using this approach increased the motivation, engagement, and success of students regardless of their backgrounds or majors.

Keywords: Programming for all, mixed-ability classroom, games for teaching, Processing.