Supporting and Assessing First Year Programming: The Use of WebCT

Java is used to teach introductory programming to a large cohort enrolled on a variety of degree programmes presented on the University of Ulster’s Magee Campus. There are two introductory programming modules taught in the first year through the traditional medium of lectures underpinned by tutorials and practical laboratory classes. Typically the class is composed of students ranging widely in ability, age, experience and motivation. Historically, students seemed to have great difficulty in achieving a reasonable standard within the twelve-week semester and each year their performance in programming presented a significant hurdle to their academic progression. In an effort to provide opportunities for guided self study and individual progress monitoring, an integrated suite of on-line resources was developed within a WebCT environment. This arrangement provided for stepped tutorials which mapped onto the lecture materials, informal (non-assessed) progress tests and formal (assessed) class tests. Upon completion, the assessed tests returned the score attained along with model solutions for those questions scored as incorrect, and the non-assessed tests returned an immediate response of correct or incorrect along with appropriate feedback. This paper presents the resources provided within the WebCT environment along with a study of students’ experiences. The use of WebCT for coursework assessment was used in conjunction with the more traditional methods of laboratory tests and written tests ( a 50-50 split). Further, a comparison of both coursework and examination results with those of a previous cohort of first year students who did not have access to the WebCT resources and who were assessed solely using traditional methods is presented. This comparison indicates that academic concerns that the adoption of on-line multiple-choice assessment would have a deleterious impact on performance within the more traditional time-limited, end-of-semester written examination were unfounded.