Tell students they have to believe that some things just work before they will understand why it works because they need exposure to a lot of material before some concepts make sense individually.
Create notes that look like Javadocs instead of introducing Javadocs so students are scaffolded in reading Javadocs without being overwhelmed by all the material available.
Teach these four Scanner methods that allow students to write interesting code at the beginning of an introductory Java course to give students a feel for programming without overwhelming them.
Misconception: If you consistently use the same variable names during class in lectures and examples, students may incorrectly assume objects in Java can only have those names.
Relate how cool it would be to have the entire dictionary for another language put into your head to importing libraries in Java to help students make sense of this abstract concept.
Insist students use Javadocs as a resource in intro Java classes to reinforce the value of self-directed learning and ensure they know how to reference important documentation.
Misconception: students struggle with the onMousePress method (and other mouse interaction methods) in the Java objectdraw Library from Williams College; they need help understanding it’s called even when don’t explicitly call it.
Show intro students in class how to force stop a program running in terminal because they need to be shown how to get out of a running infinite loop, it’s a very useful skill.
Teach "if" statements before "switch" statements, then explain how "switch" is a specialized case of "if" by translating an "if" statement into a "switch" statement.
Misconception: students develop the habit of putting the type in front of variables; they don’t realize that this creates a new variable resulting in lots of variables with the same name.