The effect of a constructivist learning environment for field -dependent and field -independent students on semantic and syntactic achievement in introductory computer programming

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of a constructivist learning environment upon field dependent (FD) and field independent (FI) students' achievement in an introductory computer programming course. Research in traditional environments has established a correlation between FD/I and the design stage of programming.;The study utilized a correlational design using introductory computer science students in their first programming course. A pretest of BASIC programming ability was given to assess baseline proficiency. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) assessed each subject's measure of field dependence (FD)---field independence (FI). A constructivist environment for learning programming was implemented for approximately seven weeks (twenty-one class sessions), applying techniques within a model developed from constructivist principles. Achievement tests in two of the stages of programming, design and coding, were administered. As additional dependent variables, student construction of programming elements---the design (semantic) elements, and the language-specific coding (syntax) elements---were collected in a portfolio and examined for both qualitative and quantitative differences.;No significant correlations were found between FD/I and the achievement scores of design and coding. No correlation was expected between FD/I and coding. There was no interaction between FD/I and design versus coding. The correlation between FD/I and the quantity of reconstructed programming elements was not significant. The correlation between FD/I and the quality of reconstructed programming elements was not significant. No interaction was found between FD/I and the quantity or quality of semantic versus syntactic elements. Stepwise multiple regression identified two predictors; for design, the predictor was the pretest. Coding was predicted by the quantity of syntactic programming elements.;The principal finding of this study, in contrast to findings in traditional environments, is that field-dependence/independence was not found to influence programming achievement within a constructivist environment.