Analysis of Research in Programming Teaching Tools: An Initial Review

This paper describes preliminary results of research related to programming teaching tools. This study focuses on the key issues being highlighted in this research. Among the research questions of the study are: What are the important issues in programming teaching and learning research? What are the methods of the research? What kind of tools involved in programming teaching and learning? What is the level of programming involved? The study applies systematic review approach to 45 research papers derived from the ACM digital database, published between 2005 and 2011. The study found six issues related to programming teaching tools, and most of the issues concern on the techniques and methods used in teaching, learning and assessment. Regarding the level of programming involved, majority of the research focuses on introductory stage.