Abstract

The intention of this research is to investigate effectiveness and impact of pairprogramming on the performance of novices in first online programminglanguage like C during covid-19 pandemic. This study analyzed the efficacy ofpair programming used as a teaching tool in online introductory programminglanguage. It was found that pair programming technique in teaching FPL hasconsiderable impact on grades, learning, error handlining, cognitiveprogramming and collaborating learning of novices in CS1.This paper reports onthe final results of novices indicating their progress in first online programminglanguage course. It is indicated that collective erudition had valuable impressionon novice learning outcomes thus making learning first programming languagemore interactive, appealing and exhilarating. We were concentrating on howpair programming has affected performance, retention, dropout rate, femaleand male performance of novices in online programming course. We inferredthat the treatment group with pair programming teaching approach performedbetter in programming and produced better programs with good understandingof error handling and recovery and their confident level much better in theirsolutions and relished with completion of their assignments and achieved bettergrades than the control group, in which no pair programming teaching methodwas used. The results of analysis indicate that in experimental treatment grouppass rate was high, female novices performed more effectively as compared tonon-pairs control group.