OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES ABOUT NOVICES INTERACTING IN A PROLOG ENVIRONMENT BASED ON TOOLS

This paper examines the general issues related to the interaction of n ovices in a Prolog environment based on tools to support both the oper ational and the declarative aspects of the language. The tools are bas ed on graphical representations for the Prolog program and for Prolog execution of programs. This research aims to investigate how students come to understand and integrate these different views of Prolog and h ow the tools affect their understanding of the language. Observations conducted during this study show that the novices had an initial conce ptual model of the virtual machine. Such models guided their interpret ation of the Prolog program and of the behavior of the machine. Their misunderstandings may be interpreted as having resulted from their cur rent models. These models evolved during their interaction within the environment. The type of feedback created by the tools provided change s in the students' perspective related to the knowledge being represen ted (program) and the interlocutor in the process (virtual machine), w hich led them to the construction of the conceptual model of the langu age.