Programming Course Sequence and Prior Knowledgeof Programming Languages:Do They Affect Students\u27 Grades?

Research in the field of education has shown that learning a new skill or subject is enhanced when prior learning on a similar topic has already taken place. Conversely, articles in the popular press have reported that object-oriented programming languages are more difficult to learn if the programmer already knows a non object-oriented language. This study will survey 400 students in Cobol, C++, and Visual Basic to determine if prior programming courses affect students\u27 grades and if so, if there is an optimal sequence to learning the languages. Results can be used by IS educators to plan programming course sequence, by practitioners to design better training programs, and by researchers to further examine cognitive issues when learning programming language