THE EFFECTS OF METAPHORS AND PAIR PROGRAMMING ON RECALL AND RETENTION AMONGST STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES AND SELF-REGULATED LEARNING LEVELS
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Date
2011-02
Authors
TIE, HUI HUl
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Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the effects of (i) Metaphors with Pair
Programming (MPP), (ii) Pair Programming (PP) and (iii) Direct Instruction Method
(DI) on the students' recall and retention of programming performance amongst
computing students in an institution of higher learning in Malaysia. This study
further examined the effects of these three methods on the performance of students
with different learning style and self-regulated learning levels (SRL). A 3 x 2
factorial design quasi experimental study with pre-test and post-test control groups
design was applied in this study. The first factor was the instructional method,
namely the MPP, PP and DI. The second factor had two moderating variables, i.e.,
the students' learning style (visual or verbal) which was measured using the Felder
and Soloman's Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire (2002), and their SRL level
(high or low) measured using the Motivated Strategies of Learning Questionnaire
(Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990). Meanwhile, the students' recall and retention scores as
the dependent variables were obtained from the immediate Computer Programming
Performance Test (CPPT) and delayed CPPT. A sample of 123 students from a
private college in Penang was selected and randomly assigned to the treatment
groups. The CPPT pre-test scores were obtained to analyse the homogeneity of
variance amongst the three groups.
The findings of the main effects showed that the MPP and PP groups
significantly outperformed the DI group in recall and retention. The verbal students
performed significantly better than the visual students in retention. Moreover, the
high SRL students significantly outperformed the low SRL students in both
performance tests. The post-hoc test revealed that: (i) the visual students in both
MPP and PP groups significantly outperformed their peers in the DI group in recall,
but only those in the MPP group significantly outperformed those in the DI group in
retention, (ii) for the verbal students, both the MPP and PP groups significantly
outperformed their peers in the DI group in recall, (iii) the verbal students
significantly outperformed the visual students in retention in both the PP and DI
groups, (iv) high SRL students in the MPP group significantly outperformed their
peers in both PP and DI for recall and retention, and (v) amongst the low SRL
students, a significant difference in recall was observed in the three groups, with
MPP significantly outperformed PP and Dl, and PP significantly outperformed Dl,
however, for retention, only the MPP group significantly outperformed those in the
DI group.
This study recommends the use of pair programming method to improve the
students' programming performance. Blending metaphors with pair programming is
also essential in order to achieve positive programming performance. In addition,
students' learning styles and their self-regulated learning levels need to be identified
as they are the predictors for their performance especially in the context of
programming education.
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Keywords
METAPHORS , PROGRAMMING