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Misconception: Students create a new object when they only need to copy a reference.

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  • The opposite case is also common: students may copy a reference when they need to create a new object.

Tags

  • Content Misconceptions
  • CS 1
  • Intro Programming
External Source

"Exploring programming misconceptions: an analysis of student mistakes in visual program simulation exercises" by Teemu Sirkiä and Juha Sorva.

Other Tips By
Juha Sorva
Teemu Sirkiä

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Spend extra time teaching Big O in intro classes that use Python because the underlying implementation of Python lists is a mystery to students that leads students to believe many operations are constant, O(1), that are not.
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Have all functions return something in an intro course to help students understand that functions have a start and an end, even though they are always returning.
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