Using Arduino to Teach Programming to First-Year Computer Science Students

Abstract

Transitioning to university is recognised as a challenging endeavour for commencing students. For commencing Computer Science students specifically, evidence suggests a link between poor performance in introductory technical courses, such as programming, and high attrition rates. Building resilience in students, particularly at the start of their academic journey, can potentially reduce the likelihood of student attrition. One way to develop resilience is through strong disciplinary engagement. We aim to increase student engagement by using popular low cost embedded platforms that provide a physical environment for novice programmers. This physical programming environment allows novice programmers to better appreciate the broad application of programming to everyday objects. Several experiments with the physical computing devices were designed and implemented for a first-year Computer Science programming course. These experiments were evaluated through a survey. Results indicate that whilst students found the environment more challenging than the normal computer-based environment, they felt more engaged in the programming process and enjoyed seeing the practical applications of hardware programming.