Syntax circuitry: A mobile game for practicing programming language syntax

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [1], computer science professions are among the fastest growing occupations in the U.S., and computer science occupations will add more than half a million new jobs in the next ten years. Simultaneously, universities in the U.S. and worldwide are seeing poor retention rates in computer science, with a major reason being that students often view the early courses in the subject as uninteresting and dull [2]. We have developed a mobile game that provides an engaging way for students to practice the basic syntax of C, C++ and Java. Learning programming language syntax is a tedious process. Practicing by actually programming is, of course, ideal, but we believe that a game which is fun for students to play in their spare time will help them get used to distinguishing correct syntactical constructs quickly. The initial version of the game was evaluated by a small population of first-year computer science students at Norfolk State University. The results showed that students enjoyed the game, and that a modest improvement in the students´ abilities to identify correct and incorrect syntax was achieved.