Empowering Novice Programmers: Redesigning Documentation for Effective Informal Learning

Abstract

Although programming is often learned through formal instruction or self-paced tutorials, informal learning, for example, through publicly available online documentation, is also a significant resource for skill development among novices. However, many novices struggle to extract useful information from documentation. This work aims to answer two key questions: (1) What specific elements of documentation make it difficult for novice learners? (2) What are some design features that could enhance the effectiveness of documentation for novices? Study 1 aims to qualitatively explore the impact of three hypothesized design changes on novice programmers’ learning experience: moving examples to the top of the documentation, ordering examples in increasing argument complexity, and displaying example outputs next to example codes. We propose these design changes should facilitate novices’ learning from the documentation, enhancing its accessibility and effectiveness. Studies 2 and 3 evaluate the effectiveness of the redesigned documentation on novices’ learning outcomes through a quantitative method. Our results demonstrate that these design changes help novices navigate and apply documentation more effectively.