Why Johnny and Janie can't program: a more deliberate approach to the first programming course
Molisa Derk · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2000
While many students do well in the first programming course, many others do not. It is proposed that the number of successful students in CS1 could be increased if instructors recognize and more deliberately address the many new ideas and new skills that are involved at the very start of this course. This paper suggests a list of critical ideas and skills, and proposes ways of addressing the students' needs in these areas by using a specially designed, slower syllabus during the first six weeks of the course.