Collaborative Programming as a Didactic Learning Strategy in CS1 Courses

Abstract

Concepts and skills related to the basic constructs of programming (variables, types, expressions, assignment, simple input and output, and conditional control and iteration structures) are a key component in the education of future software developers. Initial programming courses (CS1) tend to have a high academic mortality rate. This is reflected in low student grades, indicating that students are not achieving the required academic competencies. Seeking alternative ways to improve student performance in CS1 courses, this paper proposes as a didactic learning strategy the use of collaborative programming/coding, mediated by the integrated development environment Visual Studio Code and its add-on Live Share, in solving computer programming problems or challenges. The results of a controlled experiment in which this collaborative tool was used in different CS1 courses of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Nariño in San Juan de Pasto - Colombia are presented.