Thanks a lot again
Short version: Look at the Rountree et al work for a summary of previous studies. Have a look at one of the BRACE papers.
I will certainly do.
Read a good book on experiment design, and take into account Thomas's advice about pilot studies. It's worth putting the effort into planning, so that you don't end up investing effort in gathering data that tells you nothing.
For this first experiment, I won't be able to do this (I'm running out of time, unfortunately). That is why, having so little time, I appreciated a lot Richard's suggestion, as it self-contained a full test about "consistency"
choose a set of tasks that tap deeper cognitive skills such as planning, articulation, reading and following instructions, and systematic mapping.
I would really like to. But I'm a computer scientist, so I have no prior knowledge on how these skills can be tested. An example (hopefully an extensive one) would be of real help.
Motivation/belief does seem to have an impact, so you might want to include something on self-efficacy. You might see which instruments Susan Wiedenbeck and her group used in their studies that looked at the impact of self-efficacy.
I will. But even in her "Self-Efficacy and Mental Models in Learning to Program" I couldn't find any extensive exemplification of which are the questions I should ask.
Stefano -- The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).
