If in Doubt, Try Three

Developing good version control skills is important for students to master. This work focuses on helping students integrate good commit behaviour using a scaffolding process that happens with their regular assignments. A test group of students (n=30) was required to make a minimum of three commits in the first week. In the second week, students were trained to write better commit messages and worked together on a commit plan. In the final week, students worked alone on their commit plan. Commit behaviour was analysed for assignments occurring before, during and after the process. Results showed that students improved their commit behaviour in terms of number of commits, starting earlier with their assignments and writing more meaningful commit messages when compared to the rest of their cohort and the previous year's cohort (m=350). Qualitative results showed that students were mostly positive towards developing better commit behaviour and felt that the extra effort to think in commits delivered proportionally more benefits for their work.