The debugger as a learning tool for object-oriented programming

Abstract

Novice students still have problems with the abstraction of object-oriented programming. This research shows that the debugger could be used to clarify abstraction of the object-oriented programming with the C++ program language. Our investigation spans two consecutive courses on object-oriented programming. For the introduction course on the object-oriented programming, we modified both lectures and lab sessions so that with the help of the debugger objects could be visualised, and we could walk through the program step by step. In the second course, the lectures were extended by forty-five minutes, allowing the students to do assignments during the lectures with the help of the debugger. The results of the written examination and the completed questionnaire showed that working with the debugger in both the lectures and the practical exercises had a positive influence, especially for the introductory course on object-oriented programming. Although the Corona pandemic influenced part two, the results of the written exam did improve, but it is unclear which influence the use of the debugger had during this course. Visualising objects and walking through methods step by step could help in understanding the fundamentals of object-oriented programming language C++.