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When Practice Doesn’T Make Perfect: Effects Of Task Goals On Learning Computing Concepts, Craig S. Miller, Amber Settle
When Practice Doesn’T Make Perfect: Effects Of Task Goals On Learning Computing Concepts, Craig S. Miller, Amber Settle
Amber Settle
Specifying file references for hypertext links is an elementary competence that nevertheless draws upon core computational thinking concepts such as tree traversal and the distinction between relative and absolute references. In this article we explore the learning effects of different instructional strategies in the context of an introductory computing course. Results suggest that asking students to do targeted tasks, albeit supported with working examples, is not the best preparation. Instead, unstructured study of examples produces superior learning. Answering targeted conceptual questions can also yield comparably positive learning but only in qualified contexts. While perhaps unintuitive, these results are consistent with …