Motivating OOP by blowing things up: an exercise in cooperation and competition in an introductory java programming course

For the introductory student, the process of learning to program is an arduous task. Not only does the student have to learn the syntax of a programming language, he or she also has to apply concepts of object-oriented design and software construction in service of the projects created within the classroom. Unfortunately, as students further their study of programming, they often feel disconnected from the examples and projects they construct as part of their coursework. Projects are often perceived as toy problems and do not match the graphics-rich, interactive notion of programming that students bring with them to class. In addition, projects and classroom exercises do not convey the appropriate level of complexity and fail in the task of challenging the student to critically think about what they are constructing. This paper discusses TankBrains, a cooperative and competitive programming project presented to students in the latter part of their introductory programming course sequence. Students are challenged to create simple tank artificial intelligences as teams, which are later tested against each other in head-to-head combat. Students create their TankBrains within a collaborative virtual environment, which enforces the physics and rules of the combat simulation. Students must also present their strategies and findings to each other. This paper also examines how the use of the TankBrain system influences the students' perception regarding achievements and learning in the classroom.