Investigating the under-usage of code decomposition and reuse among high school students: The case of functions

Ahmad Omar, Irit Hadar, Uri Leron

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Functions can provide substantial benefits for programmers. They offer ways that can be used to simplify a given programming task through decomposition, reusability and abstraction. As observed by the first author, a graduate student and high school computer science (CS) teacher, students do not spontaneously use functions when they are asked to solve a certain task; instead they provide one procedural solution, even in situations where functions can clearly be helpful. This research aims to investigate how and when students use functions, as well as the reasons underlying their decisions whether to use them. This paper presents our ongoing research including some results from a pilot study. For data analysis we use the dual-process theory of human cognition and three related concepts: comfort zone, principle of least effort and cognitive laziness. We discuss how these can be useful in order to better understand the problem at hand.

Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationAdvanced Information Systems Engineering Workshops - CAiSE 2017 International Workshops, Proceedings
EditorsAndreas Metzger, Anne Persson
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages92-98
Number of pages7
ISBN (Print)9783319600475
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017
Event29th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering, CAiSE 2017 - Essen, Germany
Duration: 12 Jun 201716 Jun 2017

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Business Information Processing
Volume286

Conference

Conference29th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering, CAiSE 2017
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityEssen
Period12/06/1716/06/17

Keywords

  • Abstraction dual-process theory
  • Cognitive laziness
  • Comfort zone
  • Decomposition
  • Functions
  • Principle of least effort
  • Programming
  • Reusability

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Management Information Systems
  • Business and International Management
  • Information Systems
  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Information Systems and Management

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