DOI: 10.4018/IJWLTT.2018010101 International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies Volume 13 • Issue 1 • January-March 2018 Copyright © 2018, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 1 Is Pair Programming More Efective than Solo Programming for Secondary Education Novice Programmers? A Case Study Stamatios Papadakis, Secondary Education Teacher, Crete, Greece ABSTRACT The teaching and learning of programming are often considered a difficult topic for both teachers and students, due to its complexity and abstract nature. The traditional teaching approaches are unable to contribute substantially to the development of the necessary cognitive models by the students, producing high rates of failure and dropout in introductory programming courses. In the last 30 years, the scientific community has not stopped looking for new pedagogical approaches and teaching techniques in introductory computer programming courses. Various studies have shown that pair programming under appropriate conditions may create an environment conducive to learning, leading to an increase student interest in programming. In this paper, the author presents the results of a pilot teaching intervention. The sample was collected among first-grade students of a high school in Greece. The results showed that the pair programming is more efficient than the solo programming, both on facilitating and supporting students’ learning and understanding of basic programming concepts, as well as on improving students’ attitudes toward programming. KEyWoRdS Introductory Programming Courses, Novice Programmers, Pair Programming, Secondary Education, Solo Programming INTRodUCTIoN Over time, introductory programming courses are considered particularly demanding by the students, resulting in either low improvements in measures of student performance or high dropout rates of students (Anfurrutia, Álvarez, Larrañaga & López-Gil, 2016). As almost all traditional teaching approaches are unable to contribute substantially to the development of students’ cognitive skills for the understanding of basic programming concepts (Jimoyiannis, 2013), the adaptation of new teaching approaches and techniques is a topic of concern in the international research community (Papadakis & Orfanakis, 2017). A technique which has been popularized in recent years in the software industry, the pair- programming or collaborative programming, gradually is gained wide publicity in the education sector, as it can be effectively used for novice programmers in introductory programming courses. According to this technique, two novice programmers working together on a single computer for the completion of a program (Cockburn, & Williams, 2000). Surveys conducted at a university level have highlighted its potential as an effective technique in terms of increasing student performance and