S3-SP5-2 - Programming with a purpose

3. Research Full Paper
Lennart Rolandsson1
1 Uppsala University

This research is a full paper problematizing pair programming. The paper highlights how different purposes emerge in a programming activity as three students relate differently to the aesthetic words “ugly” and “efficient”. A problematic situation arises when the students pursue separate purposes during the activity, and it proves hard to overcome. This is something the paper discusses by focusing on various disturbances (emotional, intellectual and physical) to highlight the importance of designing collaborative educational activities with a clear-cut purpose, including or excluding the aesthetic value of the code.