What contributes to successful object-oriented learning?

Abstract

There are many conjectures about what sort of person most readily learns object-oriented technology. While often provocative, none have been confirmed by reliable studies. We describe the first serious attempt to look for factors influencing successful object-oriented learning, by studying several hundred students in introductory object-oriented programming courses. Contrary to what some have asserted, we find that several measures of depth and breadth of programming background are associated with success.