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The Effectiveness of Using a Congruent Visualization Framework on Learning a Data Structures Course. Education & Pedagogy Journal. 2023;2(6):60-76. DOI:

The majority of computer science (CS) educationists agree that learning the Data Structures course (CS2) is very difficult among novices due to its complexity. Consequently, learning the Data Structures course has been associated with a high failure rate. To enable learners understand data structures, algorithms visualizations (AVs) were proposed. Despite the long-term use of AVs in teaching and learning data structures, research shows that such tools have not been as pedagogically effective as expected. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using a congruent visualization (CV) framework on learning data structures. The framework employs a combination of two congruent program visualization tools, which involve machine-driven and learner-driven approaches. The effectiveness of using the CV framework was evaluated using a combination of experiment, grade analysis, and questionnaire methods. The subjects of the study were 887 first-year undergraduate students from the College of Informatics and Virtual Education (CIVE) of the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, studying the CS 122 Data Structures course. Results show that the use of the CV framework improved both students’ test performance and examination pass rates compared to the traditional approach. Students’ responses from a follow-up survey showed that the use of the CV framework increased students’ motivation and confidence in learning the Data Structures course.

Keywords: Data Structures course, Visualization, Program visualization, Algorithm Visualization, Congruent visualization framework