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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/N64199/01
Title: CO-ORDINATION OF MULTIPLE EXTERNAL REPRESENTATIONS IN LEARNING PROGRAMMING
Principal Investigator: du Boulay, Professor B
Other Investigators:
Lutz, Dr RK Cox, Dr RJ
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Sch of Engineering and Informatics
Organisation: University of Sussex
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 March 2001 Ends: 30 June 2003 Value (£): 136,414
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Cognitive Science Appl. in ICT
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Information Technologies No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The use of multimedia systems and graphical interfaces has made the use of multiple external representations commonplace for computerised learning environments. In the field of computing, novice and professional software development environments often offer multiple views or abstractions of the programme code, and so, multiple views to aid programming tasks is an issue for programmers of all levels. However, there is little theoretical knowledge bout the way these multiple representations influence the comprehension of computer programs.In particular, we are interested in how different factors affect the way users co-ordinate representations when performing tasks. Some of the factors that will be considered include: the different types of information or perspective afforded by the representations, information modality and individual differences such as cognitive style.This research will study novice programmers of Java when using software visualisation representation for program comprehension tasks. We are interested in how the co-ordination of these external representations influences 1) the form of their mental representations and 2) their comprehension strategies.The results of this project will provide an empirical basis for assessing the benefits of multiple representations for teaching programming and will inform the design of effective programming environments.
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Organisation Website: http://www.sussex.ac.uk