Research of methods of learning of programming objects-first and object-later

Abstract

There are several ways to achieve the goals. Some ways are more direct and faster, and others are slower. Some ways lead to a goal, while others do not. It depends on the chosen way—procedure to achieve the chosen goals. A similar problem is experienced by teachers of programming. They often solves the fundamental problem of what programming style is best for introducing learning of programming. The goal of the learning of programming is to design and creation of object-oriented programming applications. Ways to reach the goals is several. Some teachers begin to teach the students by object-oriented design, which is followed by structured designs. Other teachers prefer completely opposite approach. They teach a structured design first followed by object-oriented constructs. These two methods of teaching of object-oriented programming are known Objects-First and Objects-Later techniques of learning of programming. These techniques are the most common practices of teaching programming. The paper presents results of research of application of above mentioned techniques to learning of object-oriented structures. The research was conducted among the students of study program Teaching of Education, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Kralove in the academic years 2013/2014 and 2014/2015.