| The purpose of this study was to investigate beginning computer programming students' perceptions of learning how to program under Cognitive Apprenticeship. The study took place at a campus in the southwest. In the modeling phase, the professor verbalized the thought processes of writing and debugging program code. In scaffolding, the professor guided each student in troubleshooting errors and determining a correct flow of logic using what-if and open-ended questions. Much mentoring was needed in the beginning classes, but steadily lessoned until very little at end of semester. Modeling of many troubleshooting techniques, individual scaffolding through coding problems, and problem-solving with peers gave the students a synergistic learning environment that lead to faster learning of knowledge and skills. |
