“I FEEL LIKE I’M TEACHING IN A GLADIATOR RING”: BARRIERS AND BENEFITS OF LIVE CODING

Abstract

Live coding—synchronously writing software in front of students for the purpose of teaching—can be an effective method for engaging students and instilling practical programming skills. However, not all live coding sessions are effective and not all instructors are successful in this challenging task. We present results from an interview study involving university instructors,teaching assistants, and students identifying both barriers and benefits of live coding. We also designed and collected participant feedback on a prototype live coding tool to better facilitate learner engagement with the live coding pedagogical practice. Finally, we use this feedback to propose guidelines for how to design tools to support effective live coding in the classroom. This work advances our understanding of the benefits and challenges of live coding in university computer science instruction and highlights potential future work on the design of tools to better support this productive instructional practice.