In computing education, pair programming is a systematic teaching strategy where students work in pairs to write code, alternating roles as the ‘driver’ (who uses the keyboard and mouse to program) and the ‘navigator’ (who reads the instructions and thinks strategically about next steps and solutions to problems). Learners swap roles every 5 to 10 minutes, to ensure that both partners can contribute equally and actively to the collaborative learning. In this study with primary schools, we explored whether using the pair programming teaching approach in computing lessons positively influenced girls’ attitudes toward computing and their intention to pursue it in formal studies in the future.
| Date range of intervention | January–March 2020 (pilot study) and September–December 2021 |
| Age of participating students | 8–11 years old |
| Aim of intervention | To investigate whether implementing the pair programming teaching method in computing lessons positively influenced girls’ attitudes towards computing and their future intentions to pursue it |
| Intervention | Over 12 weeks, students used Scratch to draw shapes and create animations. The lessons incorporated pair programming pedagogy and encompassed primary computing concepts, such as sequence, selection, and repetition, as well as digital literacy skills |
| Method | We conducted a pilot study with ten primary schools. Based on teachers’ feedback from this pilot, we developed resources for a comprehensive randomised controlled trial (RCT) with 97 primary schools Schools were assigned at random to either the ‘treatment’ group, using the intervention resources, or the ‘control’ group, who continued with their usual computing lessons. We trained the teachers in the ‘treatment’ group on the pair programming approach and provided intervention materials including two six-week units of coursework |
| Evaluation | The pair programming intervention was evaluated independently by an organisation called Behavioural Insights Team (BIT). BIT’s evaluation was primarily based on quantitative data collected from learners at the start and the end of the trial using a validated instrument called the Student Computer Science Attitude Survey (SCSAS), which asks learners about their attitudes towards Computing, along with a few additional survey questions specific to this evaluation. The evaluation team analysed the data about girls’ attitudes towards computing and compared the differences between the control group and the treatment group. BIT also visited four schools in the treatment group to collect qualitative data through lesson observations, teacher interviews, and focus groups with students who had participated in the lessons. This data was analysed using case study methodology. |
Results from the randomised controlled trial revealed no statistically significant evidence that the intervention positively impacted girls’ attitudes towards computing or their intention to pursue computing in the future.
Teachers provided feedback on the trial indicating that some adapted lesson plans due to time constraints, possibly exacerbated by COVID-related disruptions like laptop sanitisation. Those with stronger computing knowledge found implementation easier. Students understood and engaged well with pair programming roles (‘driver’ and ‘navigator’). Overall, teachers were satisfied with the intervention’s resource quality. They noted increased student collaboration and improved perception of computing as a collaborative subject among girls.
The independent evaluators suggested several recommendations for future research and implementation based on the trial findings. They proposed incorporating longitudinal tracking of GCSE subject choices to assess the intervention’s long-term impact. They also recommended refining the intervention by reducing lesson content and providing additional support to teachers less confident in teaching computing.
You can learn more about the pair programming teaching method by watching a video filmed at one of the schools involved in the program and downloading the resources used by schools in the treatment group.
Childs, K. (2021). Factors that impact gender balance in computing. In Understanding computing education (Vol. 1). Proceedings of the Raspberry Pi Foundation Research Seminars.
Leonard, H. C., Quinlan, O., & Sentance, S. (2021, September). Female pupils’ attitudes to computing in early adolescence. In Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on United Kingdom & Ireland Computing Education Research (pp. 1-6). (Open-access author copy, presentation slides, and video presentation)