Computer Sciences Commons^™

Teaching programming is one of the most widely studied areas in computing education. Part of the reason for this may be the difficulty students experience when learning programming which makes it a challenging endeavor for instructors. There is a relationship between student motivation and success in learning to program [1], and motivation is also important in the bigger picture for computing educators, having inspired two ITiCSE working groups [2]. What is perhaps surprising is that motivation does not play an equal role in the various subfields of programming education. 

In this panel we discuss three areas of programming education, emphasizing …

Programming is one of the most fundamental and central topics in the information technology curriculum. Because of its importance it is crucial to understand how to effectively teach development students. In this panel we share best practices for teaching programming to a variety of populations, including freshman, non-majors, and community college students. Various pedagogical approaches including pair programming, studiobased instruction, peer instruction, active learning, cooperative learning, project-based pedagogy, high-impact education practices, and CS Unplugged type activities are included.

The complexity of languages like Java and C++ can make introductory programming classes in these languages extremely challenging for many students. Part of the complexity comes from the large number of concepts and language features that students are expected to learn while having little time for adequate practice or examples. A second source of difficulty is the emphasis that object-oriented programming places on abstraction. We believe that by placing a larger emphasis on testing in programming assignments in these introductory courses, students have an opportunity for extra practice with the language, and this affords them a gentler transition into the …