ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on computer programming, which is a rich and complex skill. It investigates transfer among three programming languages: Pascal, LISP, and Prolog. The chapter considers transfer among the languages for subjects who are relative novices and are just learning these languages and considers subjects who are relative experts with the languages. This is a report of research in progress, and the conclusions are not final. The chapter serves to highlight the complexity of the transfer question. It shows a surprising lack of transfer by one measure, and shows a rather substantial transfer by another measure. The dependent measures were mean accuracy on production rules and mean coding time when correct. The chapter reports on some of the data, which comes from a tutoring system for various programming languages that we started developing in 1989. It reflects an ongoing research project; new results on transfer among programming languages were coming in.
