Learning to program

Abstract

We present the results of a qualitative study on students' perceptions of programming environments. Interviews were coded using Grounded Theory over the course of their first lessons on programming. All students used one of four typical programming environments for introductory lessons in K12 (Scratch, RubyKara, mBlock, and Robot Karol) and had no prior programming experience. Our results indicate that students perceive these environments as having only a specific, educational purpose. To them, this indicates that the capabilities of the tools are also restricted. Also, they hold the conception of "real programming" that is in some way distinct from their lessons on programming. We present the category system that results from our analysis and discuss both the findings using the sociological theory of lifeworld and implications for teaching programming.