Misconception: Students believe that when they assign a = b, they are copying b into a rather than making a point to b. Share Misconception: Students believe that when they assign a = b, they are copying b into a rather than making a point to b. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students believe that when they assign a = b, they are copying b into a rather than making a point to b. with Twitter
Misconception: Students have trouble understanding that when the value of a variable is reassigned its previous value is irrelevant. Share Misconception: Students have trouble understanding that when the value of a variable is reassigned its previous value is irrelevant. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students have trouble understanding that when the value of a variable is reassigned its previous value is irrelevant. with Twitter
Misconception: Students think the positioning of scripts within the script area in Scratch influences the order in which they are executed. Share Misconception: Students think the positioning of scripts within the script area in Scratch influences the order in which they are executed. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students think the positioning of scripts within the script area in Scratch influences the order in which they are executed. with Twitter
Use the model of Towers of Hanoi in order to help students understand recursion. To demonstrate Towers of Hanoi, use three baby ring-stacking toys and the programming language Alice. Share Use the model of Towers of Hanoi in order to help students understand recursion. To demonstrate Towers of Hanoi, use three baby ring-stacking toys and the programming language Alice. with FacebookShare Use the model of Towers of Hanoi in order to help students understand recursion. To demonstrate Towers of Hanoi, use three baby ring-stacking toys and the programming language Alice. with Twitter
Misconception: Students often have off by 1 errors when working with loops, which can result from mixing up > and >= as well as forgetting that arrays start at index 0. Share Misconception: Students often have off by 1 errors when working with loops, which can result from mixing up > and >= as well as forgetting that arrays start at index 0. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students often have off by 1 errors when working with loops, which can result from mixing up > and >= as well as forgetting that arrays start at index 0. with Twitter
Explicitly show students how to login to Scratch because not all students have the same level of computer literacy. Share Explicitly show students how to login to Scratch because not all students have the same level of computer literacy. with FacebookShare Explicitly show students how to login to Scratch because not all students have the same level of computer literacy. with Twitter
Show students examples of unreachable code to help them reason about how conditionals are executed. Share Show students examples of unreachable code to help them reason about how conditionals are executed. with FacebookShare Show students examples of unreachable code to help them reason about how conditionals are executed. with Twitter
Misconception: Students forget that without instructions, other users won’t know how to correctly run their code in Scratch. Share Misconception: Students forget that without instructions, other users won’t know how to correctly run their code in Scratch. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students forget that without instructions, other users won’t know how to correctly run their code in Scratch. with Twitter
Tell young students that computer programming is simply writing rules for a computer to follow, similar to bossing around a younger sibling, to help them connect programming to everyday life. Share Tell young students that computer programming is simply writing rules for a computer to follow, similar to bossing around a younger sibling, to help them connect programming to everyday life. with FacebookShare Tell young students that computer programming is simply writing rules for a computer to follow, similar to bossing around a younger sibling, to help them connect programming to everyday life. with Twitter
Start teaching Scratch with blocks that run for a set amount of time to avoid the common misconception that blocks are executed simultaneously. Share Start teaching Scratch with blocks that run for a set amount of time to avoid the common misconception that blocks are executed simultaneously. with FacebookShare Start teaching Scratch with blocks that run for a set amount of time to avoid the common misconception that blocks are executed simultaneously. with Twitter
Misconception: Students think that “turn” blocks in Scratch imply a change in position within the coordinate plane. Share Misconception: Students think that “turn” blocks in Scratch imply a change in position within the coordinate plane. with FacebookShare Misconception: Students think that “turn” blocks in Scratch imply a change in position within the coordinate plane. with Twitter
Teach students the Total Turn Theorem to help them reason about drawing regular, closed polygons in Scratch. Share Teach students the Total Turn Theorem to help them reason about drawing regular, closed polygons in Scratch. with FacebookShare Teach students the Total Turn Theorem to help them reason about drawing regular, closed polygons in Scratch. with Twitter
As a debugging technique, have students write out their programs in their spoken language and compare their description to the code in order to find bugs. Share As a debugging technique, have students write out their programs in their spoken language and compare their description to the code in order to find bugs. with FacebookShare As a debugging technique, have students write out their programs in their spoken language and compare their description to the code in order to find bugs. with Twitter
Have students break their code into smaller pieces to find out where the bug might be. Share Have students break their code into smaller pieces to find out where the bug might be. with FacebookShare Have students break their code into smaller pieces to find out where the bug might be. with Twitter
Ask students what tools and skills they’d need to write a long research paper in another language using a quill pen to begin a discussion on what learning is like in an Intro CS course. Share Ask students what tools and skills they’d need to write a long research paper in another language using a quill pen to begin a discussion on what learning is like in an Intro CS course. with FacebookShare Ask students what tools and skills they’d need to write a long research paper in another language using a quill pen to begin a discussion on what learning is like in an Intro CS course. with Twitter
Have students keep a “bug collection” in a journal so they can more easily recognize and eliminate bugs in the future. Share Have students keep a “bug collection” in a journal so they can more easily recognize and eliminate bugs in the future. with FacebookShare Have students keep a “bug collection” in a journal so they can more easily recognize and eliminate bugs in the future. with Twitter
Have students follow the 3-Steps Method to simplify the task of designing a deterministic finite automaton in order to further develop their problem solving skills. Share Have students follow the 3-Steps Method to simplify the task of designing a deterministic finite automaton in order to further develop their problem solving skills. with FacebookShare Have students follow the 3-Steps Method to simplify the task of designing a deterministic finite automaton in order to further develop their problem solving skills. with Twitter
Have students create a game of Tetris in Java to work on object-oriented programming and decomposing complex programs. Share Have students create a game of Tetris in Java to work on object-oriented programming and decomposing complex programs. with FacebookShare Have students create a game of Tetris in Java to work on object-oriented programming and decomposing complex programs. with Twitter
Run a pair programming contest in Python to motivate, challenge, and boost students’ self-confidence. Share Run a pair programming contest in Python to motivate, challenge, and boost students’ self-confidence. with FacebookShare Run a pair programming contest in Python to motivate, challenge, and boost students’ self-confidence. with Twitter
Have students draw a scalable smiley face through programming to motivate the importance of using variables. Share Have students draw a scalable smiley face through programming to motivate the importance of using variables. with FacebookShare Have students draw a scalable smiley face through programming to motivate the importance of using variables. with Twitter