A cognitive model of student programmers is presented. The model is based on protocol studies of students writing Pascal programs, and is implemented in a computer simulation program. The claim of this paper is that a computational cognitive model of student program generation fits within a generate-test-and-debug (GTD) problem solving architecture in which impasse/repair knowledge plays a key role. The claim is supported by showing how the model provides a useful descriptive account of the way students write alternative programs.
James C. Spohrer, Elliot Soloway