Growth in Knowledge of Programming Patterns: A Comparison Study of CS1 vs. CS2 Students

This comparative study investigates the improvement in students' understanding of code structure from introductory (CS1) to intermediate (CS2) programming courses. Using an online survey with tasks focused on identifying expert patterns, judging readability, code comprehension, writing, and editing, the study examined two code structures: (S1) returning boolean expressions directly and (S2) unique vs. repeated code within if and else statements. CS2 students showed better performance in pattern identification, readability judgment, and editing for both structures. However, improvements in code writing were only observed for S1, and comprehension improvement was seen only for S2. The findings highlight the need for varied support across different code structures, as overall student performance remained below expectations, suggesting the need for further instructional intervention.

Sara Nurollahian, Noelle Brown, Anna N. Rafferty, Eliane Wiese