Teaching Programming with Graphics: Pitfalls and a Solution

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A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa
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Date

2023-10-18

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Department of Computer Science

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Language

en

Pages

12
1-12

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Proceedings of the 2023 ACM SIGPLAN International Symposium on SPLASH-E

Abstract

Many introductory programming courses employ graphics libraries that promote engagement and enable fun visuals. However, student excitement over graphical outputs is not a guarantee of conceptual understanding of programming, and graphics may even distract from intended learning outcomes. Our contribution is twofold. First, we analyze a selection of existing graphics libraries designed for novice programmers. We consider how these libraries foster clean decomposition, direct students’ attention to key content, and manage complexity; we find shortcomings in these respects. These shortcomings involve the libraries’ support for global coordinates and external graphics, as well as their rich APIs; we argue that these features, although powerful, are also potential pitfalls in student learning. Second, we present the design of a new graphics library, PyTamaro, which avoids the pitfalls with a minimalist design that eschews coordinates; we also outline a pedagogical approach that builds on PyTamaro’s strengths and deliberate limitations. We briefly discuss PyTamaro’s trade-offs in comparison to coordinate-based libraries. The work reported here paves the way for future empirical evaluations of PyTamaro and associated teaching practices.

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DOI

10.1145/3622780.3623644

Citation

Chiodini, L, Sorva, J & Hauswirth, M 2023, Teaching Programming with Graphics: Pitfalls and a Solution . in M Q Feldman & M Hilton (eds), Proceedings of the 2023 ACM SIGPLAN International Symposium on SPLASH-E . ACM, pp. 1-12, ACM SIGPLAN International Conference on Systems, Programming, Languages and Applications: Software for Humanity, Cascais, Portugal, 22/10/2023 . https://doi.org/10.1145/3622780.3623644

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202401041164

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[article-cris] Perustieteiden korkeakoulu / SCI