Mine, yours, ours: examples reuse and the self-expression of programming students

Abstract

Examples are commonly used as support to teach and learn programming. However, programming students (even the most experienced ones) neglect the study of code and the understanding of the message conveyed by it, preferring to reuse e adapt the code to achieve their goals. This work investigates how students use examples in their activities and, in cases where it is reused, how the appropriation of the code message happens and how it impacts in programmer's self-expression and his/her final message communicated with the program.