Misconception: Students incorrectly believe that variables passed into a block in Snap! will get modified; however, a copy of the passed-in variable is what the block receives and modifies.
Set aside class time to check in with students when they’re working on large (2-3+ weeks) group projects in order to catch them before they get derailed and create a project that doesn’t demonstrate assignment requirements.
Integrate readings from the Blown-To-Bits book and related writing prompts into your introductory CS curriculum to engage students critical thinking skills on tech and current events.
Use puzzles, problem solving, and tinkering in assignments and activities to build students’ confidence and interest in pursuing Computer Science and to ensure that students understand and develop necessary skills for success.
Having students trace a simple program for drawing a set of squares in Processing to introduce loops and strengthen student understanding for-loops with a body of code through practice.
Show a variety of for loops conditionals (e.g., < vs. <=; different variable names, different start values, different increment operations) to avoid common misconceptions about loops.
Misconception: Return is a mystery to students because they may not understand that functions have an entry point and an exit point. This results in mistakes such as assuming Python will return the right thing.
Misconception: Students struggle with the jump from writing code in one method to writing code in two methods.
Forward students links to programs in Python Tutor and ask them to answer questions about how the code works to go over what happens during a function call to provide students in-depth practice.