Work in progress - effect of instructional design and pair programming on student performance in an introductory programming course

California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) uses an outcomes-based delivery philosophy and focuses on measurable student learning. Because of the required outcome it was determined that the students needed more scaffolding or "metacognitive support" than is typically afforded in the introductory programming courses. The students were simply not capable of making the jump from simple programming concepts to being able to deliver a satisfactory completed portfolio piece. This paper reports on a study that investigated use of pair programming as a delivery methodology for an introductory Java programming course.