Students have trouble seeing the connection between models (UMLs, etc.) and code so they only want to focus on coding, a problem when teaching modeling.
Don't worry about trying to match the modality of your instruction to students' "learning styles" since the importance of learning styles is a myth.
Connect search to students’ experience with Ctrl+F or Find in various applications after they’ve written code for a search algorithm to help them understand the value of this concept in their daily lives.
Misconception: Students incorrectly assume that Java’s substring method is destructive and wrongly anticipate the original string will change.
Have students brainstorm about the data structure Pandora uses for playlists to help motivate arraylists or linked lists through comparison to everyday life.
Tell students that the data structure linked lists were used for the human genome sequencing project to motivate the value of this structure and increase interest.
Misconception: Students often think that classes hold Objects rather than understanding that they’re a blueprint for Objects because of the main method.
Justify the reason that Java Strings are immutable by showing how Strings might be packed together in the heap to help students resolve incomplete understandings in their mental model.
Ensure students develop a mental model for comparison of strings in a physical dictionary because few students use paper dictionaries anymore.
Model how to analyze code by walking through each statement to help students engage with their code and better understand their programs.
Use different kinds of balls (e.g., football, baseball, basketball, small rubber ball) to introduce inheritance hierarchies visually.
Spice up class time by including kinesthetic activities to engage your students and solidify concepts.
Encourage students to talk to their neighbors so they become comfortable asking each other questions.
Misconception: Students frequently forget to close tags or other paired constructs when writing HTML and CSS code, this error is called unclosed pairs. To help prevent this, have students write both open and close HTML tags before adding content.
Remind students to clear elements after using float so that extra elements don’t try to float as well when teaching CSS.
Teach students to utilize their resources by providing them with printed class notes; when students have questions, show them how to use their notes well.