Collaborative Learning in Programming Education with the Programmed Visual Contents Comparison Method

This paper discusses the effectiveness of the Programmed Visual Contents Comparison Method (PVCC) for collaborative learning in computer programming education. Building upon our previous study, we proposed PVCC to assess panoramic understanding of programming and developed a testing system based on this method. Our results confirmed the PVCC method's ability to identify programming abilities related to panoramic understanding of programming. To evaluate the effectiveness of PVCC for collaborative learning, we conducted an experiment with a group of students at a graduate school. The inclusion of students contributed to a creative learning environment, where new ideas emerged during problem-solving activities. Our findings demonstrate that collaborative learning using the PVCC method is beneficial for students in the process of learning programming.

I. Introduction

In recent years, software development has seen an increase in situations where parts of the program are black-boxed, such as the use of sample code copying, development tools, and existing libraries [1]. It has been noted that there is a growing number of software developers who struggle with coding [3]. In such circumstances, we believe that the ability to understand the context of a program, in other words, having a Panoramic Understanding of Programming (PUP), is more important than memorizing programming language syntax. Here, context refers to algorithmic understanding, as well as the ability to comprehend program composition and design from a broader perspective.