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.
Model how to analyze code by walking through each statement to help students engage with their code and better understand their programs.
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.
Loosen your requirements for style sometimes to keep students motivated to write programs, this is especially relevant when students come from an engineering background.
Misconception: When passing arrays in C/C++ students often forget to pass in the size of the array and to use [] (square brackets) to make the variable an array.
Provide specific ways to get additional practice on material (e.g., Linked lists) because teachers often underestimate the amount of practice students need to solidify course concepts.
Encourage students to write instructions that a 5-year old could follow to give them a technique for problem solving and planning their programs.
Explain that using objects/classes helps students keep their programs organized to motivate the use of object oriented programming, some students need extra help understanding its importance.
Have students compete calculating to the 50th Fibonacci number, one team of humans doing the math versus a team students writing a program to stress the importance of computing for calculations.