Motivation and Goal - Why study?

Computer science educators are currently faced with problems of students failing or withdrawing from the beginning programming courses because of their inability to assimilate basic concepts taught at the early stage.

New empirical studies will reveal some of the problems with current programming issues, why they have these difficulties, and explores possible solutions. Study of novice programmers will improve both productivity and quality of programming and the educational techniques used for the training of programmers

Learning programming environments have contributed to the effective teaching and learning of programming. Due to its accessibility and variation of choices (customized experiences), the use of web has facilitated the learning of programming.

What is a Plan?

A plan is an abstraction of a concept, requirement, programming code, object, and other sub-plans. A plan has a goal or purpose within a particular time and context and can be integrated with other plans to build a larger plan.

Origin of Plans

The idea of plan used in programming builds on the concept of script and plans used for structured knowledge representation in natural language processing

Programming Plan

Plans are template-like solutions used in problem solving. A Plan is represented in programming as a set of 

code segments that together perform a task in solving a problem. Plans may be a single statement

 (e.g. Increment Plan), or may be more complex, consisting of several sub-plans e.g. Sort Plan [Ebrahimi, 92]. 

Programming knowledge can be represented by five cognitive levels: lexical, syntactic, semantic, schematic, 

and conceptual. The schematic level refers to groups of statements which together form a programming plan. 

The relationship between these plans is represented in a hierarchical format. 

The major problem for students appears to be making the leap from understanding individual program statements to

 the tasks accomplished by groups of statements. [Liffick, 96] 

Plan and Plan Composition Errors

Novices may not detect negative interactions between sections of code that are locally correct, but globally incorrect.

Plan composition understanding is crucial for novice programmers to correctly put together the pieces of a program to solve a given problem.

Plan Integration Modes (Plan Spatial Relationships)

A programming problem (a plan) is divided into several plans (sub-plans) that at each time two plans can be combined according to the following methods: appended, embedded, interleaved, and branched.

Plan integration tests and reinforces learners understanding of the relationship between plans such as to how the plans are put together, spatial relationships, and order.

Assesses Novices at an Early Stage and Provides Feedback

 Since most novice programming errors arise from mismanagement of the plans - incorrect plan composition, novice programmers will be assessed based on their ability to correctly implement the plans and integrate them with each other. Problems will be resolved at an early stage, rather than at the completion of the program. Profiles will include information about plan mismanagement which will be an indicator of student comprehension and performance.

vThe Future of IT

�Accounts for almost 30 percent of America�s economic growth, and the wage gaps between IT workers and all other workers will continue to widen

vThe Role of Systems Analysis and Design

�Systems Analysis and Design

�Step-by-step process for developing high-quality information systems

�Systems Analyst

�Plan, develop, and maintain information systems

Information System Components

vHardware

�Moore�s Law

vSoftware

�System software

�Application software

�Enterprise applications

�Horizontal system

How Business Uses Information
Systems

vIn past, IT managers divided systems into categories based on the user group the system served

�Office systems

�Operational systems

�Decision support systems

�Executive information systems

v

Today, it makes more sense to identify a system by its functions, rather than by users

�Enterprise computing systems :

Support company-wide operations and data management requirements

�Transaction processing systems :

Efficient because they process a set of transaction-related commands as a group rather than individually

�Business support systems :

�Provide job-related information to users at all levels of a company

�Management information systems (MIS)

�Radio frequency identification (RFID)

�What-if

 

�Knowledge management systems :

�Called expert systems

�Simulate human reasoning by combining a knowledge base and inference rules

�Many use fuzzy logic

 

�User productivity systems

 

�Technology that improves productivity

�Groupware

IT in SUMMATION

vIT is a combination of hardware, software, and telecommunications systems that support business

vThe essential components of an information system are hardware, software, data, processes, and people

vCompanies are production oriented, service oriented, or a combination of the two

vOrganization structure usually includes levels

v

****Systems analysts need a combination of technical and business knowledge, analytical ability, and communication ****

v

 

 

 

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