Toward Ability-Based Design for Novice Programmers with Learning (Dis)abilities
Carl C. Haynes · 2020
Dynamically adaptive Parsons problems are pieces of code that must be ordered and indented correctly. Performance on prior problems determines the difficulty of subsequent ones. These problems comprise an adaptive learning system that dynamically adapts the learning experience to an individual's ability. But how do novice programmers with learning (dis)abilities experience solving them? And, how can we make this learning experience more accessible? To understand the learning experience, researchers suggest testing the hypothesis that cognitive load is less for solving dynamically adaptive Parsons problems than writing equivalent code. Furthermore, researchers propose using an ability-based design approach to increase the accessibility of adaptive learning systems such as dynamically adaptive Parsons problems.