Describes various instructional materials designed to teach computer programing. These materials (primarily for the Apple II microcomputer) include books, teaching packages, videotapes, audiocassette tapes, and computer media (including programs loaded from cassettes and disks). Information on classroom packages, writing software, and selecting an…

Presents test cases to adequately test the "triangle program" described in part 1 (appearing in volume 42 of this journal). Discusses test case design and design techniques, differentiating between testing (showing that errors present) and debugging (finding where/what errors are and correcting them). Suggests testing be incorporated into…

Some of the important concepts in recursive programing are detailed, along with how they can be used. Examples are provided to show how to program recursively in BASIC. (MP)

Recent technological developments in interfaces, programing philosophy, and artificial intelligence may invite the participation of women programers, who find a concrete, intuitive, and informal style of programing more congenial than the hierarchical, rule-driven style heretofore pervasive in computer culture. (DM)

This paper discusses five points related to developmental research on children learning to do Logo programming: (1) systematic developmental research documenting what children are learning as they learn to program is necessary; (2) Logo is cognitively complex beyond its early steps and difficult to learn without instructional guidance; (3) the…

Persistent conceptual bugs exist in how novices, from primary school to college age, program and understand programs. These bugs are not specific to a given programming language but appear to be language-independent. The three different classes of bugs are: (1) parallelism, the assumption that different lines in a program can be active at the same…

Designed for use by computer programming teachers, this booklet presents the concepts of structured programming and provides examples of how to implement this methodology, which provides a systematic way of organizing programs so that even large and complex programs are easier to understand and modify than unstructured programs. After a brief…

This pilot study tested the hypothesis that the logical thinking skills of middle-grades students are enhanced by teaching them computer programming using the BASIC programming language. A quasi-experimental design was used with 36 students randomly selected and assigned to one of two treatment groups: 18 students received no instruction in…

This handbook is for the student with little or no previous experience with computer utilization for data processing. Sample problems to be run on the computer are included. It gives: (1) an overview of the sequence of steps from obtaining data to receiving computer output, (2) a guide to common computer packages, (3) an illustration of the use of…

A module designed to teach ninth grade students how to write simple machine language programs is offered in this newsletter of the University of Pittsburgh's Project Solo. The first few pages of the newsletter present a rationale for having ninth grade students learn programming, and some programs which were written by such students are presented.…

Revised material from earlier Project Solo newsletters is presented here. The revised material updates programs to explain the law of sines and cosines and to apply the idea of rectangular coordinates approach to aircraft navigation systems such as VORTAC. A brief discussion of the value of off-line as opposed to on-line activity is also…

The Gomoku game playing system was designed to provide a challenge to students taking an introductory course in programing with BASIC--to write a program in BASIC which will make a move in a Japanese game called Gomoku. This system should provide experiences for the student in designing and debugging a program which would be superior to assigned…

A formalist approach to the teaching of computer languages in programs leading to associate degrees in computer related technologies is described and advocated. (SD)

Presents a collection of teaching activities suitable for students in the upper grades. These activities focus on practical programming projects, use of word processors for learning a foreign language, an Atari program for making a starburst, and a program (with deliberate errors) to determine the thickness of folded paper. (JN)