karel the robot learns java a 35 page tutorial

Also, beginners have trouble understanding that in C++, function arguments are identified by order, not by name. For beginners, it's safe to describe functions as structured blocks of code that other functions can jump to.

You need to explain very carefully that a = 5 means 'assign 5 to variable a, not 'a is equal to 5'.

The assignment operator ( =) in C-style languages is extremely misleading.

One way to overcome this is to show some code working through a debugger. People have trouble understanding that functions are executed in sequence, one item at a time, like a recipe.

The sequential nature of imperative languages.

Students need to know how to read code before they can learn how to write code. There are a few things that practically every beginner struggles with. That is to say, the instructor is failing not his students. It is clear that the instructor is not taking into account the learning style of these students. That is to say, these student might know how to learn math, biology, or physics, but those techniques are not working when it come to programming.ĭoes anyone have any suggestions or advice? The students I am helping do not deserve to fail this class. My best guess is that they are having trouble connecting the abstractions of computer science with familiar concepts. The computer is a blackbox that works, so why mess with it?

Prior to this CS class, most of these struggling students had not expressed any interest in computers as anything more than word processors, web browsers, or some other form of entertainment. Everyone I am tutoring gives a similar account of his or her experience in class: the instructor moves along too quickly, nothing in the lectures make any sense, et al. I have known many excellent and bright students who have failed or dropped their first CS course. I am tutoring a few students who are having significant trouble learning the basics of their first programming language: C++.

Karel the robot learns java a 35 page tutorial