Carl Christopher Haynes-Magyar

Carnegie Mellon University | CMU · Human-Computer Interaction Institute

Parsons problems are computer programming puzzles that require learners to place code blocks in the correct order and sometimes indentation. Introductory computer programming instructors use them to teach novices how to code while optimizing problem-solving efficiency and cognitive load. While there is research on the design of Parsons problems for...

Traditional computer programming practice, such as writing pseudocode, code tracing, and code writing, can be arduous, time-intensive, and frustrating. But adaptive Parsons problems, which require learners to place mixed-up code blocks in the correct order, are designed to support learners’ individual differences in knowledge acquisition, reduce ex...

Novice programmers need well-designed instruction and assessment informed by research and critical perspectives to conquer the historical challenges associated with completing introductory computer programming courses successfully. These issues include high dropout and failure rates, the struggle to acquire and retain basic programming knowledge, a...

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...

College is a critical time when changes in students' attitudes, knowledge, personality characteristics, and self-concepts are affected by their face-to-face and online interactions with educators, peers, and the campus climate (Astin, 1997). The growing use of big data and analytics in higher education has fostered research that supports human judg...

Interest in implementing student-facing performance dashboards in higher education is increasing, but there are few studies directly addressing how students perceive and interpret these dashboards. We presented 47 undergraduate students with simulated activity and performance feedback from a Learning Management System dashboard representing 3 time...

Users make frequent use of Web search for learning-related tasks, but little is known about how different Web search interaction strategies affect outcomes for learning-oriented tasks, or what implicit or explicit indicators could reliably be used to assess search-related learning on the Web. We describe a lab-based user study in which we investiga...