Research on Computer Programming as a Cognitive Activity: implications for the study of classroom teaching

Abstract

Over the past decade, researchers have begun to study classroom teaching in terms of the knowledge structures and cognitive processes that teachers use to design instruction. In the process, researchers have borrowed many theoretical principles from cognitive research across a wide range of content domains, including computer programming. Although research on computer programming has proven to be a rich source of cognitive theory, many of its implications have yet to be exploited vis‐à‐vis the study of classroom teaching. The purpose of this paper is to review cognitive research on computer programming selectively, and to suggest how it could be used to open new avenues of research in the fields of teacher education and instructional supervision.