The role of programming environments in Pascal instruction

Educators have long believed that feedback contributes to learning, yet the form feedback should take remains uncertain. Recently-developed computer learning environments can provide novices with easy access to feedback that experts often use when debugging complex programs. These studies constitute a preliminary investigation of novice responses to such environments. We investigated the advantages of the interactive programming features and optional debugging features in the Macintosh Pascal and Instant Pascal programming environments. The first experiment assessed how often precollege programming students used the unique capabilities of the environment. We found that such students rarely used the optional features without prompting. For the second experiment we devised activities to take advantage of the debugging features. We compared the performances of 10 students using Instant Pascal to that of 9 students using a traditional programming environment during a one-semester course. We found no conclusive evidence for the effectiveness of the optional features, although students who used Instant Pascal outperformed those who used the traditional environment.