The Effects of a Software Artefact Designed to Stimulate Abstract Thinking Ability on the Academic Performance in Object Oriented Programming of First Year Information Technology Students

A below average throughput of Information Technology students specializing in software development is a challenge that many Universities and Universities of Technology in South Africa face. Contributing factors to this phenomenon are varied at best, but one of the identified factors are that students in this field, especially first year students, find it difficult to conceptualize the associated information and manner of thinking required to become successful in their studies. This is especially true when considering object orientated programming concepts and paradigms that students are required to master as part of their studies. Literary evidence suggests that a high level of working memory, which is associated with abstract thinking ability, is required when learning and applying object orientated programming concepts. The problem becomes more evident and serious if we consider that the Information and Communication Technology sector of a country is largely dependent on the graduating student populous in terms of growing the sector sustainably. A specialized software instrument was developed and tested in an attempt to affect a change in the abstract thinking ability of students from a student sample at a University of Technology. The results of this study focusses on the effect that the instrument realized on the academic performance of first year students related to particularly to object orientated programming and their abstract thinking ability in general as gauged by, amongst other instruments, the General Scholastic Ability Test, or GSAT, rather than focusing on the instrument itself.