Experiments with Industry's “Pair-Programming” Model in the Computer Science Classroom

Abstract Anecdotal evidence from several sources, primarily in industry, indicates that two programmers working collaboratively on the same design, algorithm, code, or test perform substantially better than the two working alone. Two courses taught at the University of Utah studied the use of this technique, often called pair-programming or collaborative programming, in the undergraduate computer science classroom. The students applied a positive form of "pair-pressure" on each other, which proved beneficial to the quality of their work products. The students also benefit from "pair-learning," which allowed them to learn new languages faster and better than with solitary learning. The workload of the teaching staff is reduced because the students more often look to each other for technical support and advice.