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International Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning

TECH-EDUCATION 2010: Technology Enhanced Learning. Quality of Teaching and Educational Reform pp 223–229Cite as

Computer Programming: Fail Fast to Learn Sooner

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Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 73))

Abstract

Computer programming is not only to know about the languages or the processes, it is essentially to know how to do it. This involves a constructivist approach in learning. For a newbie in computer programming it is hard to understand the difference between know-about disciplines and the know-how-to-do-it ones. This leads to failure because when they understand they aren’t able to solve a programming problem it is usually too late to catch all the time meanwhile lost. Our solution is to get them to fail soon enough. This way they still have time to recover from an eventually bad start.

For an average student to realize a failure it is required a failed examination. This is the fourth year we are adopting automated weekly tests for fast failure and consequent motivation for study, in the university first year discipline of computer programming fundamentals. The results are convincing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Systems, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal

    Miguel A. Brito & Filipe de Sá-Soares

Authors
  1. Miguel A. Brito
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  2. Filipe de Sá-Soares
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The American College of Greece, Gerakas Attikis, Greece

    Miltiadis D. Lytras

  2. University of Oviedo, Spain

    Patricia Ordonez De Pablos

  3. ESSEC Business School, Cergy Pontoise Cedex, France

    David Avison

  4. Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA

    Janice Sipior

  5. Dept. Human Informatics and Cognitive Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, 359-1192, Saitama, Japan

    Qun Jin

  6. Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal

  7. Staffordshire University, Becaonside, Stafford, UK

    Lorna Uden

  8. Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, Japan

    Michael Thomas

  9. Trieste University, Italy

    Sara Cervai

  10. The American College of Greece, Aghia Paraskevi, Greece

    David Horner

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© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cite this paper

Brito, M.A., de Sá-Soares, F. (2010). Computer Programming: Fail Fast to Learn Sooner. In: Lytras, M.D., et al. Technology Enhanced Learning. Quality of Teaching and Educational Reform. TECH-EDUCATION 2010. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 73. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13166-0_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13166-0_32

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-13165-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-13166-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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