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ARCS approach to PTA-based programming language practice sessions: Factors influencing Programming Problem-Solving Skills

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Abstract

This study used the ARCS approach to investigate the effects of university students’ motivation, including attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction, to use the Programming Teaching Assistant (PTA) on their Programming Problem-Solving Skills (PPSS). Previous studies have shown that PTA features enhance learners’ programming performance, but relevant studies have not empirically evaluated the factors influencing learners’ problem-solving skills in PTA-based programming language practice. Thus, the current study used the ARCS model to investigate the effects of its core factors, Attention (A), Relevance (R), Confidence (C), and Satisfaction (S), on the learners’ PPSS. A total of 99 students major in computer science and engineering (CSE) participated in this study. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted and the results indicated that these motivational factors influenced learners’ PPSS in PTA-based programming language practice. The PTA has proven to be a motivating platform for programming language practice. Finally, relevant implications are offered.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledged Mr. Shuvo Md Touhidul Islam for his technical supports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Learning Institute of Future Excellence (LIFE), Academy of Future Education, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China

    Benazir Quadir & Juming Shen

  2. School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (Taicang Campus), Suzhou, China

    Kazi Mostafa

  3. Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology & Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan

    Jie Chi Yang

  4. Computer Science and Technology student at the Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China

    Rokaya Akter

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  1. Benazir Quadir
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Table 4

Table 4 Descriptive statistics of the questionnaire items
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Quadir, B., Mostafa, K., Yang, J.C. et al. ARCS approach to PTA-based programming language practice sessions: Factors influencing Programming Problem-Solving Skills. Educ Inf Technol 28, 13713–13735 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11740-6

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