From Problems to Programs via Plans: The Content and Structure of Knowledge for Introductory LISP Programming
- 1 May 1985
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Educational Computing Research
- Vol. 1 (2) , 157-172
- https://doi.org/10.2190/wk8c-bycf-vq5c-e307
Abstract
Typically, when a programming language is taught, the syntax and the semantics of the language are emphasized. In contrast, we report here on an organization of information for teaching LISP which puts primary emphasis on the structure of and relationships between: a problem, a program, and, an intermediate abstraction, a plan. This organization is based on an analysis of the underlying structure of ostensibly different problems and their program solutions. We present qualitative observations on the use of this organization gleaned from actual classroom teaching. Finally, we attempt to generalize these notions to other problem domains and to other programming languages.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Problem solving and the development of abstract categories in programming languagesMemory & Cognition, 1981
- Understanding Understanding MathematicsCognitive Science, 1978
- Exploratory experiments in programmer behaviorInternational Journal of Parallel Programming, 1976