Learning to program in middle school: How pair programming helps and hinders intrepid exploration

ABSTRACT Background: Learning to program and success in computer science requires persistence in the face of challenges. This study contributes to research on the social context of learning by describing how children’s peer interactions can support or hinder the pair’s problem solving on the computer. Methods: Video recordings from eight pairs of middle school students programming a computer game are used to explore how working with a partner supports or hinders the pair’s persistence in the face of challenges, what we call intrepid exploration (IE). Findings: IE thrives when partners are responsive to each other both verbally and non-verbally, and when they switch driver and navigator roles to share and build on each other’s expertise. IE is hindered when partners engage in a power struggle that results in disengagement with each other and giving up on their goal. For pair programming to result in interactions that promote persistence, both students must be willing and able to embrace their assigned roles: the navigator supporting their shared goal, and the driver responding to their navigator. Contribution: The types of interactions described in this paper provide a tool for teachers to evaluate and support productive collaboration among novice pair programmers.