Using Blended Learning to Improve Student Success Rates in Learning to Program

The aim of the project was to improve student success rates in learning to program. The project team introduced a number of changes in module organization, tutorial support and online resources. The blend represents a mixture of traditional and novel elements, with the novel elements more marked in the online developments. More than 600 students in two higher education institutions used the new blended learning environment. The results showed marked improvements in pass rates in both institutions. Detailed evaluation was conducted on students' use of the new environment. The results indicate a generally positive evaluation of the main elements of the blend, and widespread use of the new online features.