Abstract
The authors describe work on the GRiP (Graphical Representations in Programming) Project1, which aims to build a support environment for novices learning to program using a visual programming language (VPL). The design of the environment is based on a series of experiments which investigate issues of visual programming language paradigm, and the ways in which novices extract information from a representation in order to make sense of a program. This paper focuses particularly on the multivariate nature of program comprehension, the difficulties associated with attempting to teach skills of this kind, and suggests a solution in the form of a modular support system.
Funded by EPSRC grants GR/L36987 and GR/L37045 and carried out in collaboration with Jon Oberlander and Richard Cox
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Good, J., Brna, P. (1998). Information Types and Cognitive Principles in Program Comprehension: Towards Adaptable Support for Novice Visual Programmers. In: Goettl, B.P., Halff, H.M., Redfield, C.L., Shute, V.J. (eds) Intelligent Tutoring Systems. ITS 1998. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1452. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-68716-5_37
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