Abstract

This study seeks to understand how students experience learning computer programming, and the implications of those experiences for the quality of their learning. In order to identify the essence of the experiences, different types of artefacts produced by students during teaching are analysed including program code, programming assignment demonstration interviews, course feedback surveys, emails, and comments written on examination papers. The main contribution of this paper is the description, using narratives, of four distinct student experiences of a first programming course: thriving, surviving, drowning and lost. Each narrative shows a unique combination of effective and ineffective learning behaviours.