Design and Evaluation of an Interactive Teaching Platform for Guided Instruction in Programming with Real-Time Compilation

Abstract

The current information age puts a high premium on programming skills, with education systems around the world rushing to integrate programming instruction into national curricula as early as elementary school. Programming instruction is complicated, however, by inconsistencies in course content and mismatches between instruction goals and the learner’s current ability level, which can lead to learner frustration and poor learning outcomes. Lack of appropriate practice methods also negatively impacts learner performance and knowledge acquisition. This study describes the design of an interactive guided instruction platform for real-time program compiling based on JavaScript. The program learning unit uses text designed with incremental and progressive levels of difficulty, along with a programming assistance learning platform. It provides step-by-step online interactive training using an editing interface that visualizes and compares the execution results of the program, allowing learners to repeatedly practice each task using different approaches and parameters, thus helping learners develop autonomy, critical thinking and self-confidence, thus improving learning motivation and learning outcomes. The course automatically records learner progress, allowing learners to monitor their performance against past performance and current benchmarks, and to plan for future learning. The system detects learning difficulties and bottlenecks, providing appropriate learning assistance as needed, along with support mechanisms including discussion forums and other functions, allowing learners to pose questions and interact with instructors and other learners in a modular mutually assisting community.