An Analysis of Students' Difficulties with ArrayList Object Collections and Proposals for Supporting the Learning Process

The use of collections for grouping objects is very common in object oriented applications, and even small-scale programs developed by undergraduate students. One of the most popular collections is the ArrayList that according to many researchers should be emphasized over the fundamental data structure of Arrays. However, learning to use an ArrayList collection correctly is not easy. In this paper we present an analysis of undergraduate students' difficulties with ArrayLists and some proposals for supporting the learning process.