Misconception: Students don’t understand that the right side of an assignment statement is executed before the assignment. They think that variables store unresolved equations.
Have students write a program that constructs an n x n Magic Square in Java so they gain practice working with bounds in 2D arrays.
Have students create a Burrito class in Java to practice object-oriented programming using an object they are familiar with.
Have students write many small, simple classes in Java to scaffold their learning of the basics of object-oriented programming.
Run a pair programming contest in Python to motivate, challenge, and boost students’ self-confidence.
Have students create a game of Tetris in Java to work on object-oriented programming and decomposing complex programs.
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.
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.
Misconception: Students have trouble understanding that when the value of a variable is reassigned its previous value is irrelevant.