ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the effects of metaphors and pairing activity on programming performance of students with different self-regulated-learning (SRL) level. A total of 84 computing students were involved in this seven-week study, and they were randomly assigned either to a group that received a combination of metaphor and pair programming (MPP) or to another group that received pair programming (PP) only. Students in both groups worked in pairs according to their SRL level (one high and one low) when solving programming problems in C++ language. The findings revealed that high SRL students in the MPP method performed significantly better in recall than their peers in the PP method, and similar result was observed among the low SRL students. However, no interaction effect was observed between the method and SRL level on programming performance, i.e., high SRL students always perform better either in the MPP or PP groups. Metaphors have assisted the learners to develop better conceptual understanding by linking the known to newly acquired abstracts; and pair programming does cultivate peer discussions. Also, instructor should assist students to improve their SRL to reinforce self learning.