In the study titled “A web-based programming learning environment to support

cognitive development” by Hwang et al, (2008), Web-based programming has become

a popular and vital issue in recent years. The rapid growth of various applications not

only demonstrates the importance of web-based programming, but also reveals the

difficulty of training relevant skills. The difficulty is owing to the lack of facilities such as

online coding, debugging and peer help to assist the students in promoting their

cognitive development in web-based programming. 

In the past decade, various teaching strategies and learning activities have been

applied to computer-programming courses for beginners (Govender & Grayson, 2008).

For example, Machanick (2007) proposed the idea of abstraction-first teaching by hiding

details until students are ready for them. In addition, Emurian, Holden, and Abarbanel

(2008) employed a peer-tutoring approach, and Hwang, Shadiev, Wang, and Huang

(2012) proposed a web-based programming-assisted system to provide learning

support for programming courses. In the meantime, researchers have indicated that

problem-based learning (PBL) could be a promising approach for programming

language learning (Kordaki, 2010; Pereira, Zebende, & More, 2010). For example,

Gálvez, Guzmán, and Conejo (2009) reported a problem-solving environment to

diagnose students’ knowledge levels and to generate feedback and hints to help

students understand and overcome their misconceptions in learning programming

languages. (Yang & Hwang, 2015).

Several Web-based on-line judges or on-line programming trainers have been

developed in order to allow students to train their programming skills. However, their

pedagogical functionalities in the learning of programming have not been clearly

defined.The final objective is to provide new learning strategies to motivate students

and present programming as an easy and attractive challenge. Results indicate that

both students and teachers found that among other multiple benefits, Furthermore, the

experiment also showed an improvement in students’ academic outcomes. (Regueras,

2012).

Hwang W., Wang C., Hwang G., Huang S. (2008). A web-based programming learning

environment to support cognitive development. Retrieved by

https://academic.oup.com/iwc/article-abstract/20/6/524/669641

Yang, Hwang. (2015). A two-tier test-based approach to improving students' computer-

programming skills in a web-based learning environment Retrieved by

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281759698_A_two-tier_test-

based_approach_to_improving_students'_computer-programming_skills_in_a_web-

Hwang W., environment to support cognitive development. Retrieved b

Regueras. (2012). A distributed system for learning programming on-line Retrieved by

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036013151100193X