Problem Posing Exercises (PPE): An Instructional Strategy for Learning of Complex Material in Introductory Programming Courses

Problem posing refers to the generation of a new problem or a question, by a learner of a given topic. It has been shown to be an effective strategy for learning of complex material in domains such as mathematics. In this study we have defined Problem Posing Exercises (PPE) as a problem posing based instructional strategy to scaffold the learning of complex material and problem solving in a first year undergraduate computer science course (CS1). We implemented PPE in a large CS1 course of 450 students and found that PPE has positive effects on students' learning and engagement. We also examined the differences in effect of PPE for novice and advanced learners and found that PPE has more evident effects on novices than advanced learners.