Lane, H. Chad
(2005)
Natural Language Tutoring and the Novice Programmer.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
For beginning programmers, inadequate problem solving and planning skills are among the most salient of their weaknesses. Novices, by definition, lack much of the tacit knowledge that underlies effective programming. This dissertation examines the efficacy of natural language tutoring (NLT) to foster acquisition of this tacit knowledge. Coached Program Planning (CPP) is proposed as a solution to the problem of teaching the tacit knowledge of programming. The general aim is to cultivate the development of such knowledge by eliciting and scaffolding the problem solving and planning activities that novices are known to underestimate or bypass altogether. ProPL (pro-PELL), a dialogue-based intelligent tutoring system based on CPP, is also described. In an evaluation, the primary findings were that students who received tutoring from ProPL seemed to exhibit an improved ability compose plans and displayed behaviors suggestive of thinking at greater levels of abstraction than students in a read-only control group. The major finding is that NLT appears to be effective in teaching program composition skills.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
31 January 2005 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
8 September 2004 |
| Approval Date: |
31 January 2005 |
| Submission Date: |
8 December 2004 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
193 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Computer Science |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
artificial intelligence; computer science education; dialogue systems; intelligent tutoring systems; novice programmers; programming instruction |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12082004-151424/, etd-12082004-151424 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:09 |
| Last Modified: |
13 Apr 2020 12:55 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10178 |
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