Programs Students Write.

Abstract : The study addresses itself to the problem of designing an automated system for instruction in programming, and also to the study of problem-solving behavior, as exhibited by students using a CAI course in computer programming. The study uses computer programs written by 40 college students in 1972 as part of a CAI course in AID (Algebraic Interpretive Dialogue), an algebraic language similar to BASIC. The course is self-contained and consists of 50 tutorial lessons described in detail in Friend (1973). The programs analyzed were written as solutions to 25 programming problems from the course; 747 solutions containing 7063 commands were analyzed. The distribution of the data over problems and over students is discussed. Problem difficulty and diversity of student solutions are also discussed in detail.