Examining Metacognitive Difficulties in Learning Programming: Analysis of Student Behavior and Strategy

Abstract

Novice programmers often struggle to articulate their problem-solving steps, underscoring the need for metacognitive awareness and self-regulated learning strategies. However, most automated assessment tools in university programming courses do not effectively support these essential skills. To address this gap and guide the design of more supportive assessment tools, this study aims to investigate the metacognitive challenges novice learners face when learning Python programming, focusing on both their behavioral patterns and metacognitive strategies. The significant differences in students’ program development behaviors and metacognitive learning strategy use between novice and advanced programmers were identified. Our findings highlight the need for better-designed automated assessment tools in the future.