Transferring knowledge and skills from one language to a new language is a key requirement for a competent programmer, and yet teachers pay little attention to supporting effective transfer. Recent research has shown that the same skills humans use when transferring from one natural language to another are also used when transferring between programming languages. These skills sometimes aid transfer and sometimes hinder it. By paying attention particularly to the hindrances, teachers can improve learners’ outcomes significantly. This research, however, has only been validated in the context of learners moving between procedural Python and object oriented Java.
In this project, a new transfer context is to be considered: that of learners who know Python/Java and are transferring to a functional programming language (FPL). While Python and Java are both imperative, albeit with procedural and object-oriented elements, the transfer to a FPL involves a significantly different programming paradigm. The overall aim of this project is to understand the issues involved in such a language transfer, so that teaching can be improved. In particular, while the transfer between languages can probably be accelerated, the overall understanding of programming languages can be deepened as well.
The project aims are as follows:
- Assimilate the literature on programming language transfer, including Tshukudu and Cutts’s Model of PL Transfer (MPLT) for novices.
- Develop a categorisation of the PL concepts involved in Python/Java and the FPL, according to the MPLT.
- Validate the categorisation by talking to professors and teaching assistants in both Norway and Scotland who have experience of teaching FPLs to students who have previously learned mainly Python and Java.
- Using a generic pedagogy for transfer based on the MPLT, available in the literature, work with the current professors teaching FPLs in both Norway and Scotland to specialise the pedagogy for this particular language transfer.
- Run a study in those professors’ classrooms, gathering data on the use of the specialised pedagogy by the professors.
- Analyse and write up the results.
As one of the supervisors is primarily based in Scotland, much of the supervision will be via Zoom and the main language of communication will be English.