Abstract:
There is a growing reliance on technology as the core driver of the 4th industrial revolution. This trend not only delineates Information Technology (IT) as a key topic of global discussion but also makes programming the most rapidly growing skills required by employers. Also, on the academic front, it challenges the capability of current curricula to produce competent IT graduates armed with the right skillset to meet the surging demand for IT professionals. Moreover, addressing this challenge goes beyond designing a university curriculum for fields that offer IT courses with a computer programming component because unlike other subjects, students often have little to no experience with computer programming before arriving at the university. Consequently, teaching and learning computer programming becomes more challenging than other subjects, and aside from the direct result in poor students' academic performance, fewer students also master the skill. Generally, the debate on improving student's academic performance has inspired a myriad of investigations into factors with correlative impact. However, while literature significantly links student's academic performance to the impact of cognatic factors, there is still a need to investigate the impact of cognition on subjects. Such investigation has the potential to contribute toward enhancing curriculum development and inform approaches to teaching and learning. Therefore, in this paper, we investigated the effect of cognitive factors on students' performance in introductory programming. Using a case study of undergraduate students at a South African University of Technology, our findings show that enhancing cognitive abilities leads to greater performance in introductory programming. More so, personal motivation was found to be the core driving force behind developing and enhancing cognitive ability.
Page(s):
3607-3618
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, Volume: 98, Issue: 17, Year: 2020