Cognitive Models and Intelligent Environments for Learning Programming

At present, there is a general consensus on the nature of
learning               programming, but there are different opinions on
what forms an effective      environment for it. It is generally
recognized that the development of a      mental model is a
formidable task for the student and that                           learning
programming is a complex activity that depends heavily                  on
metacognitive skills.
This book, based on a NATO workshop, presents   both pure
cognitive models and experimental learning environments,               and
discusses what characteristics can make a learning model
effective, especially in relation to the learning
environment (natural or                     computerized). The papers cover
cognitive models related to different         aspects of
programming, classes of learners, and types of                           environment,
and are organized in three groups: theoretical and                  empirical
studies on understanding programming, environments                        for
learning programming, and learning programming in                                 school
environments.
Comprehension, design, construction, testing,         debugging, and
verification are recognized as interdependent skills,            which
require complicated analysis and may develop independently,
and indifferent orders, in novices. This book shows that
there is unlikely to be asingle path from novice to expert
and that the structure of the final         product (the program)
may not constrain the process by which it comes into   being
as much as some would advocate.