What is Programming Courses

This chapter presents the findings from a quasi-experimental study analyzing the effect of Game Development-Based Learning on students' academic performance in programming courses in Jordan. The study tested an argument proposing a positive significant association between GDBL instruction and students' performance. The analysis of variance results investigating the effect of enrollment and completion of a concurrent GDBL course to normal courses found that the treatment group outperformed two other groups: the control and the comparison group. The positive gains in the post-assessment scores, were consistent across the two programming courses: C++ and Object-Oriented Programming. This finding confirms the earlier results across countries and contexts documenting the salubrious effect of GDBL on students' academic performance in Computer Science and Information Technology courses. Findings also support the overarching constructionist approach where the use of scaffolding and technology in instruction and assessment yield better academic outcomes for learners.