Monitoring and evaluating a redesigned first year programming course

A collaborative project between the Computing faculty and the Education faculty of Monash University was aimed at improving the teaching and learning of first year programming. After initial research had identified the problems, some improvements were attempted during 1996. One department was willing and able to make major changes to its subjects immediately. The sequence of two first year programming subjects was restructured and redesigned. The progress of the project was monitored via direct observation, email and the World Wide Web. An improvement in the percentage of students who achieved very good results marked the project as a success.