Narrowing and Stretching: Addressing the Challenge of Multi-track Programming

Given the different amount of programming experience that students have arriving at university, some universities have introduced alternative multiple streams to teach programming. This approach was exemplified by Harvey Mudd College, who successfully used it as part of a range of measures to increase gender diversity within computing. One of the challenges with having multiple streams is how to narrow the experience gap without holding back those students who arrive with more experience of programming. In this paper we discuss one potential solution, which is to offer more experienced students the opportunity to choose their own topic of study and their own project. Rather than having technical constraints on their work, students are instead required to demonstrate how they have managed their own learning and worked collaboratively, developing within Bloom’s affective domain.