Transitioning an Introductory Programming Course into a Blended Learning Format

Teaching Introductory Programming is one of the foundations of Computer Science education and is generally the first course novice students take. It is important for the teachers to motivate students who are learning to program with the help of a variety of teaching methods. Over the years teachers have discussed how to best teach introductory programming, what learning styles and tools to use, how to motivate students and what programming languages should be taught. The steady growth in students’ numbers has also contributed to the challenges of teaching this course. Blended learning is one approach to address these challenges. Many studies have concluded that blended learning can be more effective than traditional teaching and can improve the students’ learning experience. This paper describes the transitioning of an introductory programming course, as part of a large-enrolment first-year subject, into a blended learning format. Periodic face-to-face lessons and traditional forms of assessment were combined with an integrated learning environment for engaging with video, code and quizzes. The result was a lower staff workload and a learning experience that students were satisfied with. Notably, feedback from students shows that they adopted different tools based on their individual learning preferences.