New roles for students, instructors, and computers in a lab-based introductory programming course

摘要

This paper describes our efforts to develop a new lab-based course format for computer science instruction. Building on learning science research, we created a flexible new technology platform to support students and their instructor as they participated in this new form of instruction. Students work collaboratively on Web-based activities while the instructor interacts with students in a tutorial role. The paper describes our system in detail, outlines the organization of the course that used it, and reviews and evaluates the pilot results. We then discuss the implications for computer science instruction and research in higher education.