Background and Context: Learning programming syntax is challenging for novice programmers. One promising approach to teaching syntax in introductory computer science (CS) courses is assigning syntax exercises: simple, repetitive problems where students are asked to make a small modification to code or practice recalling and typing syntax. Prior work has shown that syntax exercises, as an addition to a course, are beneficial for all students, and perhaps especially helpful for students without prior CS experience. Still, it is unclear how syntax exercises compare to other types of practice problems.

Objective: The goal of our study was to investigate whether syntax exercises are a beneficial intervention when compared to other programming practice problems. We evaluated if syntax exercises impact students’ (1) average grade on programming problems, (2) syntax skills, (3) CS self-efficacy, or (4) beliefs about CS, and if they had a differential benefit for students without prior CS experience.

Method: We conducted a randomized-controlled trial in an undergraduate introductory CS course. As part of their weekly homework, all students completed practice programming problems. Students in the treatment group were also assigned to complete syntax exercises, whereas students in the control group were assigned to complete additional practice programming problems.

Findings: When controlling for students’ prior CS experience, we did not find any statistically significant differences between students assigned to syntax exercises versus practice programming problems on (1) average grade on programming problems, (2) syntax skills, (3) CS self-efficacy, or (4) beliefs about CS. We also did not find any differential benefit of syntax exercises for students without prior CS experience.

Implications: Our findings suggest that syntax exercises may not provide additional benefits compared to practicing programming problems. The results also shed light on how design choices in syntax-focused practice activities and other course factors may affect outcomes. Our work introduces a framework to describe variation in syntax-focused practice activities, which can guide future research of interventions to support students’ early learning of programming skills.