Detecting Learning Patterns during Exercise from Function Call Logs
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International Journal of Advanced Computer Science, V ol. 1, No. 1, Pp. 30-35, Jul. 2011. Manuscript Received: 10,July, 2011 Revised: 13,July, 2011 Accepted: 19,July, 2011 Published: 10,August,2011 Keywordsprogrammi ng education, function call logs, learning pattern, process of trial and error, education support AbstractIn programming exercises in information education, teachers have to teach, figuring out student difficulties. Today, the teachers figure out the difficulties from a source code and its execution result. However, it is difficult for the teachers to figure out the difficulties from them because they are only the results of exercises. In this paper, we propose a method to detect learning patterns during exercises by collecting and analyzing function call logs. To validate the utility of the method, we have conducted a programming exercise for 17 university students and collected function call logs. Detecting the learning patterns from them, we have realized the leaning patterns detected by the method can confine student difficulties more specifically than the learning patterns detected without the method. 1. Introduction To acquire programming skills, a novice programmer needs to learn describing source codes during exercise. Many colleges of information technology establish programming exercise classes in their primary stages. In the classes, students are stuck on a process of describing source codes. Students gradually acquire programming skills thorough the trial and error processes. Students ask a teacher questions on their difficulties. When the teacher supervises them, the teacher must figure out the difficulties from their source codes and execution results. However, in this way, the teacher takes too long time and it requires a lot of efforts to supervise each student. For efficient teaching, the teacher needs to figure out difficulties in which students would be stuck in advance. In this paper, we propose a method to detect frequent learning patterns from function call logs collected during an exercise. This method contributes the teacher to figure out the student difficulties from the learning patterns. The teacher can prepare efficient teaching methods corresponding each learning pattern. 2. Necessity of Analyzing Learning Process 2.1. Missing processes of creating programs In a common programming exercise, few teachers have tocoach many students simultaneously. Therefore, the teachersare required to give an efficient coaching to all studentsin a equal way. But at present, the teachers cannot coachefficiently at the time they are asked questions by the students during programming exercise. This is because the teachers cannot figure out the processesof trial and errors by students. Figure 1 shows the flowof the programming exercises. Fig. 1. Flow of Programming Exercise In the programming exercises,as Figure 1 shows, to solve assignments which given bythe teachers, the students repeat describing the source codes and executing the programs in trial and error phase. Afterthis trial and error phase, the students who is stuck on theassignments and cannot solve by himself ask a question to the teacher. In this case, the teacher need s to figure out what was difficult for the students to understand. Therefore, usingthe students source codes and execution results, the teacherwho is asked a que sti ons ne eds to i den tify t he ca use s ofstudents difficulties. The causes of students difficulties arelikely to appear in trial and error phase. If the teachers figure out the student process of trial and error, he could identifythe cause of students difficulties efficiently. However, it is difficult for the teachers to guess the causes of students difficulties only from students source codes and executionresults because they are produced as a result of trial and error. The teachers would waste too much time. To respond to the students questions efficiently, we need to focus on the student process of trial and error. 2.2. Necessity of Classifying P rocess of Trial and Error In programing exercises in information education, the similar programming assignments tend to be served every year, because learnings the students should acquire are stipulated. On similar programming assignments, the causes of students difficulties in process of trial and error are often common to many students. There are similar characteristics in the causes of many students difficulties. Detecting Learning Patterns during Exercise fr om Function Call Logs Kohei Tanigawa, Fumiko Harada, & Hiromitsu Shimakawa
