Explicitly discuss the lack of bounds-checking in C-based courses to avoid student confusion when using strings and arrays.
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.
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.
Have students brainstorm about the data structure Pandora uses for playlists to help motivate arraylists or linked lists through comparison to everyday life.
Misconception: Students incorrectly assume that Java’s substring method is destructive and wrongly anticipate the original string will change.
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.
Explain that arrays work like a dresser of clothing to help students understand this abstract data structure by relating it to structures they know.
Misconception: Students have difficulty using the correct data types in Java because their go-to data type is int most of the time.