Teaching programming: An evidence based and reflective approach

Programming is an essential skill that electrical and electronics engineering students should possess. With the advances made in technology, even the simplest electrical devices are becoming more intelligent and connected. This emphasizes even more the need for programing skills for engineers. Traditionally, in electrical engineering curriculum introduction to programming is taught though without rigor. Computer programming is a challenging task since it requires abstract thinking, logic and mathematics skills. Novice students rapidly develop a disliking and avoid tasks/projects that involves programming. In order to overcome these issues and get students interested in programming, we took an evidence based approach for teaching computer programming. The method involves combining a number of proven best practices in teaching, together with a reflective tool for the instructor when planning and delivering the course. We experimented with novice students who are taking the basic computer programming for the first time. Our experiments demonstrate that an evidence based teaching approach is highly effective. This paper describes the methods used and our observations on the outcome.