A Necessity-Driven Ride on the Abstraction Rollercoaster of CS1 Programming

Abstract

Introductory programming courses (CS1) are difficult for novices. Inspired by Problem solving followed by instruction and Productive Failure approaches, we define an original "necessity-driven" learning design. Students are put in an apparently well-known situation, but this time they miss an essential ingredient (the target concept) to solve the problem. Then, struggling to solve it, they experience the necessity of that concept. A direct instruction phase follows. Finally, students return to the problem with the necessary knowledge to solve it. In a typical CS1 learning path, we recognise a challenging "rollercoaster of abstraction". We provide examples of learning sequences designed with our approach to support students when the abstraction changes (both upward and downward) inside the programming language, for example, when a new construct (and the related syntactical, conceptual, and strategic knowledge) is introduced. Also, we discuss the benefits of our design in light of Informatics education literature.

Cryptography in Grade 10

“…Our pathway includes a few emblematic cryptographic systems and schemes, carefully selected as representatives of cryptography core ideas. To create a motivating progression, the introduction of a new scheme is always triggered by the necessity (which we stimulate in students [32]) to overcome the limitations of the previous one(s). This paper's first goal is to present our learning path (section 2)focusing on the cryptography principles and schemes that drive the learning progression (2.2)-and the development and testing of Snap!…”