An investigation into student characteristics affecting novice programming performance

Abstract

Novice programmers usually experience difficulties when programming for the first time. The main aim of the study presented in this paper is to identify those characteristics that negatively effect procedural programming performance, so that additional support can be provided in the instruction of programming courses for students possessing these characteristics. Investigations were conducted at two South African tertiary institutions. At both institutions a first course in Java programming, focussing on procedural programming aspects, was used for purposes of the study. The characteristics investigated were the student's problem solving ability, gender, learning style, first language and previous computer experience. The study revealed that a student's problem solving ability and first language definitely have an impact on his or her programming performance.