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Knowledge organization and skill differences in computer programmers
Like experts in other fields, expert computer programmers can recall at a glance far more information relevant to their field than novices can. One explanation for this difference is that experts not only have more information, they have it better organized into meaningful chunks. In this paper, we...
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Published in: | Cognitive psychology 1981-01, Vol.13 (3), p.307-325 |
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Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Like experts in other fields, expert computer programmers can recall at a glance far more information relevant to their field than novices can. One explanation for this difference is that experts not only have more information, they have it better organized into meaningful chunks. In this paper, we infer the details of individual programmers' chunks of key programming concepts using the
Reitman—Rueter (
Cognitive Psychology, 1980,
12(4), 554–581.)
technique for inferring tree structures from recall orders. Differences in organizations accompany skill-level differences. Beginner programmers' organizations show a rich variety of common-language associations to these programming concepts; Intermediate programmers show mixtures of programming and common-language associations; and Experts show remarkably similar, but not identical, organizations based clearly on programming knowledge. |
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ISSN: | 0010-0285 1095-5623 |
DOI: | 10.1016/0010-0285(81)90012-8 |