COMPUTER SCIENCE

IN K–12
An A to Z handbook on teaching programming

26 Concepts,
Practices, and
Pedagogies Inspired
by Research and
Classroom Practice

Contributions by Leading Computer Science Educators and Researchers

Edited
by SHUCHI GROVER
Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viii

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
MARK GUZDIAL

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
SHUCHI GROVER

1. Algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
SHUCHI GROVER

2. Before You Program, Plan! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

PHILIP BAGGE AND SHUCHI GROVER

3. Creative Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
MILES BERRY

4. Data Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
BAKER FRANKE AND RICHARD KICK

5. Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
JENNIFER ROSATO AND DAVID WOLBER

6. Feedback Through Formative Check-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

SHUCHI GROVER, VICKY SEDGWICK, AND KELLY POWERS

7. Guided Exploration Through Unplugged Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

PAUL CURZON AND SHUCHI GROVER

8. Hard Fun With Hands-on Constructionist Project-Based Learning . . . . . . . 75

DEBORAH A. FIELDS AND YASMIN B. KAFAI

9. Integrating Programming In School Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

SHUCHI GROVER AND AMAN YADAV

10. JavaScript, Python, Scratch, or Something Else? Navigating

the Bustling World of Introductory Programming Languages . . . . . . . . . 99
DAVID WEINTROP AND SHUCHI GROVER

11. Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, & Beliefs: Learning Goals for

Introductory Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
REBECCA VIVIAN, SHUCHI GROVER, AND KATRINA FALKNER

An A to Z handbook on teaching programming v

Contents

12. Learner-Centered and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

TIA C. MADKINS, JAKITA O. THOMAS, JESSICA SOLYOM, JOANNA GOODE, AND FRIEDA MCALEAR

13. Modularity With Methods and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

MIKE ZAMANSKY, JENS MÖNIG, AND JONALF DYRLAND-WEAVER

14. Naïve Conceptions of Novice Programmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

JUHA SORVA

15. Operators and Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

MATTHIAS HAUSWIRTH AND SHUCHI GROVER

16. Peer Collaboration and Pair Programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

SHANNON CAMPE AND JILL DENNER

17. Questions and Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

SHUCHI GROVER AND STEVEN FLOYD

18. Repetition and Recursion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

DAN GARCIA AND JOSHUA PALEY

19. Selecting Pathways With Conditionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

SHUCHI GROVER

20. Testing and Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

KATHRYN RICH AND CARLA STRICKLAND

21. Universal Design: Reaching All Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

MAYA ISRAEL AND TODD LASH

22. Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

PHILIP BAGGE AND SHUCHI GROVER

23. Worked Examples and Other Scaffolding Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

JANE WAITE AND SHUCHI GROVER

24. X-ing Boundaries With Physical Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

SUE SENTANCE AND KATHARINE CHILDS

25. Yay, My Program Works! Beyond Working Code...

Good Habits of Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
SHUCHI GROVER

26. Zestful Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

BRYAN TWAREK

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

vi Table of Contents
EDUCATION

C
oding teaches our students the essence of logical thinking and problem solving
while also preparing them for a world in which computing is becoming
increasingly pervasive. While there’s excitement and enthusiasm about
programming becoming an intrinsic part of K-12 curricula the world over, there’s
also growing anxiety about preparing teachers to teach effectively at all grade levels.
This book strives to be an enduring, practical guide for every K-12 CS teacher
anywhere who is either teaching or planning to teach programming at any
grade level. To this end, readers will discover:
❖ An A-to-Z organization that affords comprehensive insight into teaching
introductory programming.
❖ 26 chapters that cover foundational concepts, practices and well-researched pedagogies related to teaching
introductory programming as an integral part of K–12 computer science. Cumulatively these chapters
address the two salient building blocks of effective teaching of introductory programming—what content to
teach (concepts and practices) and how to teach (pedagogy).
❖ Concrete ideas and rich grade-appropriate examples inspired by practice and research for classroom use.
❖ Perspectives and experiences shared by educators and scholars who are actively practicing and/or examining
the teaching of computer science and programming in K-12 classrooms.

This collection represents the best of how we (researchers, developers, and teachers of computing) think about
what computing teachers need to know...I have no doubt that all computing educators will find this book useful
in their own classrooms.
—MARK GUZDIAL, Professor, University of Michigan

It is increasingly clear that computer science is foundational for every student to learn. Shuchi Grover does a
beautiful job of bringing together viewpoints from across the wide landscape of CS education to make this new
subject accessible for K-12 educators.
—HADI PARTOVI, Co-founder and CEO, Code.org

This timely book is laser-focused on K-12 computer science teachers: what concepts should our students learn,
and how can we help them learn? Its authors are world-leading computer scientists and educators involved in
K12-CS, and the book is deeply rooted in the best research we know. But the focus throughout is practical: the
opportunities and challenges of the classroom. No computing teacher should be without it.
—SIMON PEYTON JONES, Chair of Computing at School, England | Microsoft Research, Cambridge

SHUCHI GROVER, PH.D. (Stanford University), is a computer

scientist and learning scientist by training. She has been immersed in
K-12 computer science education for two decades across three continents.
Her vision for this A-to-Z handbook was brought to life by 40 co-
authors— renowned teachers and researchers who are actively working
on bringing computer science to schools in the US and around the world.

ISBN 978-1-7346627-0-2

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9 781734 662702