Award Date

1-1-1997

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Educational Psychology

Number of Pages

68

Abstract

The study examined the effects of learning a computer programming language on logical thinking skills, by comparing the logical reasoning skills of students who took a QBasic class with those who took a continuing education computer graphics/desktop publishing class; The study took place during a 14-week period in the fall of 1996. The sample was selected from students enrolled in a QBasic programming language from a community college in Las Vegas, Nevada {dollar}(n=15).{dollar} A desktop publishing/graphics class was the comparison group, selected from the same community college {dollar}(n=15).{dollar} Pretest and posttest scores on the students' logical thinking skills were collected using Logical Reasoning (Hertzka & Guilford, 1955, 1993). Syllogistic statements were used because they are closely related to IF-THEN statements required in learning computer programming language structure; An analysis of covariance indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between programming and graphic groups on posttest scores of logical thinking skills. That is, learning a programming language did not enhance logical reasoning skills, specifically the use of syllogistic reasoning skills. However, observations of students' classroom behaviors indicate that some students increased the use of logical thinking or problem-solving skills as the programming instruction progressed.

Keywords

Effects; Language; Learning; Logical; Programming; Skills; Thinking

Controlled Subject

Community colleges; Computer science; Cognitive psychology; Educational psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

1658.88 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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