Reflections on didactical challenges in teaching computer programming

Abstract

One of the key challenges of modern society is the vast number of technological devices surrounding us. As a result, general ICT skills are essential for both work and personal time. In addition, ICT skills are widely used in the education of different subjects. The challenge is that while computer science (programming) is relatively well covered in the literature, computer science in other professions, including education for non-IT professionals, is not.

Teaching computer programming is particularly difficult in courses for students from outside computer science fields. The fundamental problem is: what computer skills should be taught and to what extent? It is usually impossible to teach all possible concepts in a course. In this case, the focus should be on programming terminology, key definitions, or perhaps - computational thinking and problem-solving skills? Another challenge may be using English or the national language and selecting examples based mainly on mathematics or practical experiences.

This chapter presents the experiences and reflections of authors from different universities, departments, and courses on teaching, using other pedagogical approaches, and programming theories comparing programming for computer science students and non-computer science students.