Use Shapes, Rectangles, and Squares to teach objects and inheritance in Java, tell students they’re the only ones who can complete the job for extra engagement.
Compare recursion to painting the layers of a Russian nesting doll to help students understand the concept.
Analogize stacks and interrupts using a story in which a person is frequently interrupted in the course of performing everyday tasks.
Have students imagine that logical operators are people making decisions to help them think about how the operators work.
When introducing version control, set students up for failure to facilitate group discussions; it’s crucial that students develop good modes of communicating.
Because high-school students are interested in driving, transportation is a great model for introducing class hierarchies and interfaces.
Use Class Responsibility Collaboration (CRC) cards to consistently introduce ideas like objects throughout an AP CS course.
Demonstrate swapping variables' values by swapping the contents of two cups full of liquid; you need a third cup to swap the liquids just like you need a third, temporary, variable to swap the values.
Introduce “base-case” and “smaller-caller” as a helpful way for students to remember the different parts of recursion.