This paper explores the educational benefits of introducing the aspect-oriented programming paradigm into a programming course in a study on a sample of 75 undergraduate software engineering students. It discusses how using the aspect-oriented paradigm, in addition to the object-oriented programming paradigm, affects students' programs, their exam results, and their overall perception of the theoretically claimed benefits of aspect-oriented programming. The research methodology, consisting of automating the analysis of student-created computer programs, administering surveys, and collecting exam results, provided an objective measurement of the benefits of the paradigm for novice programmers, as well as evaluating their perception of its usefulness. The results show that the use of aspect-oriented programming as a supplement to object-oriented programming enhances the productivity of novice program code software engineering students and leads to increased understanding of theoretical concepts. Students readily accepted the new paradigm and recognized its benefits.