Unraveling the Geek Gene hypothesis for novice, casual learners of programming

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Substantial research addresses students’ uptake of technology skills yet novice, casual learners of programming, who out of interest or requirement need to learn programming without the intent of specialization or in-depth use are overlooked. This group is expanding rapidly as professional degree programs become more quantitative and technologically oriented. This project uses a mixed-methods approach to address the expectation level of novice, casual students of programming, how students’ expectations map to the so-called “Geek Gene”, and its impact on student learning outcomes in the short and medium term. The results will benefit WU instructors by providing advice on tasks and strategies to better align expectations, requirements, and learning objectives with the goal to increase students’ success in programming-oriented courses and deliver empirical support about technology learning barriers.