Student interest and choice in programming assignments

This paper describes a study, conducted in an introductory programming course, on the factors that make students interested in programming assignments. These factors include whether the assignment is perceived as easy or difficult, and the paper analyzes these in detail. There are also significant factors involving the end product of the assignment. The study also looks at the impact of these interest factors on choice, when students must actually choose a program to write. The same factors are involved, but some become more important while others become correspondingly less important. These observations may be useful for instructors considering the design of assignments or the role of student choice in introductory programming courses.