Assessing students in classrooms is important. Self-assessment is also another important part in teaching and learning. It helps both teachers and the students to understand where to improve in the school curriculum.
Therefore in this paper we have talked on the different self-assessment screens which are available to teach computer programming. We proposed a new way of self-assessing novice learners to evaluate novice Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) learners theoretical and java coding skills.
A previous work was published (Hosanee, 2015) where the requirements of a novice OOP tool were identified. An OOP novice learning tool was built. The software consisted of many features. E-assessment was among one of the software.
Therefore, in this paper, the assessments screens are being evaluated. Feedbacks received from novice OOP learners confirmed that the screens were simple and students enjoyed answering the questions.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Background study
3. Methodology
4. Results
4.1. Theoretical self-assessments questions
4.1.a. First Method
4.1.b. Second Method
4.2. Java coding self-assessments questions
4.2.a. First Method
4.2.b. Second Method
4.2.b.1. Inheritance Java question:
4.2.b.2. Association Java question:
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
The primary objective of this research is to evaluate new self-assessment screens integrated into an Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) novice learning tool, addressing the gap in existing software which typically focuses solely on coding skills rather than both theoretical knowledge and practical application. The research seeks to determine how these assessment screens influence student engagement and their ability to grasp OOP concepts effectively.
- Development of dual-purpose assessment screens for theoretical and Java coding skills.
- Evaluation of formative and summative assessment effectiveness for novice programmers.
- Integration of OOP concepts such as inheritance and association into self-assessment workflows.
- Analysis of student feedback regarding the simplicity and user-friendliness of assessment interfaces.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1. Theoretical self-assessments questions
The following figure shows a self-assessment screens which allow OOP learners to evaluate their basic OOP concepts. Questions are in fill-in the blank type. For instance, the user is expected to select the appropriate answer from the different combo boxes in every sentences. He will be expected to click on the “validate” button to validate his answers. If he fails to answer to the questions, he will be prompted to try again until he is able to answer all the questions successfully. Feedbacks received for this screens confirm that the screen is simple and fun. Students enjoy the fill-in the blank features.
Formative and summative questions can be as in the next figure as well. To teach inheritance (one of the concepts of OOP), three classes were used. “Person”, “Staff” and “Student”. Staff and student classes inherited their characteristics from the class person. Therefore, Person is known to be the parent of children staff and Student. Therefore, we designed the questions accordingly to allow the novice learner to define the relationship between Person, Staff and Student. Feedbacks received were positive. Learners have been able to identify the relationships between the 3 classes. They have understood that staff and students are subclasses of class Person.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Discusses the importance of classroom and self-assessment in education and identifies the lack of tools that evaluate both theoretical and coding skills in novice OOP learners.
2. Background study: Reviews existing literature on programming education, highlighting the need for improved instructional materials and the distinction between formative and summative assessment approaches.
3. Methodology: Describes the integration of summative and formative questions into a novice learning tool, utilizing Java programming as the primary vehicle for coding assessment.
4. Results: Presents the developed assessment interfaces, including specific examples of theoretical and practical coding tasks designed to test concepts like inheritance and association.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes that the new assessment screens successfully improve student motivation and understanding of OOP concepts through a simple and engaging interface.
Keywords
Object-Oriented Programming, OOP, novice OOP learners, software tool, assessment tools, inheritance, association, formative assessment, summative assessment, sub-classes, super classes, Java programming, student engagement, self-assessment, e-assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on evaluating specific self-assessment screens designed to help novice students learn Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) by testing both their theoretical knowledge and Java coding abilities.
What are the primary thematic fields covered in the study?
The core themes include software tool design for educational purposes, the application of formative and summative assessment strategies, and the pedagogical approach to teaching OOP concepts like inheritance and association.
What is the central research question or objective?
The objective is to validate that a new, integrated approach to self-assessment—combining theory and coding—leads to better student engagement and a clearer understanding of OOP concepts compared to tools that focus only on code.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The study utilizes a software development approach to create the assessment tool, followed by an evaluation involving students to gather feedback on the usability and educational effectiveness of the designed screens.
What topics are explored in the main part of the paper?
The main part covers the design and presentation of theoretical "fill-in-the-blank" assessments and practical Java coding tasks, demonstrating how they test inheritance and association through specific software interfaces.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Object-Oriented Programming, novice learners, formative/summative assessment, Java programming, and educational software tools.
How does the proposed tool handle incorrect user answers?
The tool provides immediate feedback; for instance, if a user fails a coding assessment, an "incorrect answer" message appears, guiding the student to re-evaluate their input until they succeed.
What role do "Person", "Staff", and "Student" classes play in the study?
These classes are used as practical examples to teach the concept of inheritance, where students must correctly define the parent-child relationships within the assessment software.
What feedback was provided by the novice learners?
Students reported that the assessment screens were simple, fun, and effectively motivated them to learn OOP, leading to a clearer grasp of both technical terminology and Java code structure.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Yeeshtdevisingh Hosanee (Autor:in), 2016, Using different assessment screens to evaluate students' Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) skills, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/321036
