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High-level problems in teaching undergraduate programming languages

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William R. CookAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGPLAN Notices, Volume 43, Issue 11

Pages 55 - 58

https://doi.org/10.1145/1480828.1480839

Published: 30 November 2008 Publication History

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Abstract

This paper discusses several problems in teaching programming languages. A language tends to indoctrinate its users and desensitize us to its problems and limitations. In addition, many language issues don't arise until programs reach a certain scale, which can be difficult to do in a one-semester course. No solution is proposed; instead the focus is to better understand the difficulty of designing an effective curriculum. One way to cut through the accidental combination of surface features in programming languages is to focus on semantics and programs themselves as object of study.

References

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Jr. Allen B. Tucker and Robert E. Noonan. Programming Languages: Principles and Paradigms. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2001.

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William R. Cook. Object-oriented programming versus abstract data types. In Proc. of the REX Workshop/School on the Foundations of Object-Oriented Languages (FOOL), volume 489 of Springer LNCS, pages 151--178, 1990.

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William R. Cook. Applescript. In Proc. of the The Third Conference on History of Programming Languages (HOPL III), 2007.

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John C. Mitchell and Krzysztof Apt. Concepts in Programming Languages. Cambridge University Press, December 2001.

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Michael L. Scott. Programming language pragmatics. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA, 2000.

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Cited By

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Dietrich S(2020)Teaching introduction to programming languages with a database twistJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3447080.344708636:3(43-52)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3447080.3447086
Kanika Chakraverty SChakraborty P(2020)Tools and Techniques for Teaching Computer Programming: A ReviewJournal of Educational Technology Systems10.1177/004723952092697149:2(170-198)Online publication date: 27-May-2020
https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520926971
Abreu PSilva DGomes A(2018)Multiple-Choice Questions in Programming CoursesACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/324313719:1(1-16)Online publication date: 19-Nov-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3243137
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Index Terms

High-level problems in teaching undergraduate programming languages
1. Software and its engineering
  1. Software notations and tools
    1. General programming languages
      1. Language features

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Information

Published In

ACM SIGPLAN Notices Volume 43, Issue 11

November 2008

137 pages

ISSN:0362-1340

EISSN:1558-1160

DOI:10.1145/1480828

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Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 30 November 2008

Published in SIGPLAN Volume 43, Issue 11

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programming languages curriculum

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Cited By

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Dietrich S(2020)Teaching introduction to programming languages with a database twistJournal of Computing Sciences in Colleges10.5555/3447080.344708636:3(43-52)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3447080.3447086
Kanika Chakraverty SChakraborty P(2020)Tools and Techniques for Teaching Computer Programming: A ReviewJournal of Educational Technology Systems10.1177/004723952092697149:2(170-198)Online publication date: 27-May-2020
https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239520926971
Abreu PSilva DGomes A(2018)Multiple-Choice Questions in Programming CoursesACM Transactions on Computing Education10.1145/324313719:1(1-16)Online publication date: 19-Nov-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3243137
Brito MDe Sá-Soares F(2014)Assessment frequency in introductory computer programming disciplinesComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2013.07.04430(623-628)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2014
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.chb.2013.07.044
Shi JWhite S(2013)Work-in-ProgressProceedings of the 2013 Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering10.1109/LaTiCE.2013.48(229-232)Online publication date: 21-Mar-2013
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/LaTiCE.2013.48
Brito Mde Sá-Soares F(2010)Computer Programming: Fail Fast to Learn SoonerTechnology Enhanced Learning. Quality of Teaching and Educational Reform10.1007/978-3-642-13166-0_32(223-229)Online publication date: 2010
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13166-0_32
Machado RGuerreiro PJohnston EDelimar MBrito M(2009)Work in progress - IEEEXtremeProceedings of the 39th IEEE international conference on Frontiers in education conference10.5555/1733663.1733939(1179-1180)Online publication date: 18-Oct-2009
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1733663.1733939
Machado RGuerreiro PJohnston EDelimar MBrito M(2009)Work in progress - IEEEXtreme: From a student competition to the promotion of real-world programming education2009 39th IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference10.1109/FIE.2009.5350540(1-2)Online publication date: Oct-2009
https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2009.5350540

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An aspect-oriented approach to the undergraduate programming language curriculum

Programming languages in a liberal arts education

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