Related Work

Resources and Publications on Programming Misconceptions

Misconceptions have been studied in various areas of education for decades. In programming education, research in conceptual change and misconceptions is still less mature. Nevertheless, there are many publications that identify or describe various misconceptions related to computer science and programming.

Other Collections of Programming Misconceptions

There are some existing collections of programming misconceptions. Here are two that stand out:

These collections are excellent resources. Our collection differs in its organization and form. We organized our misconceptions by programming language concepts, we tied them to specific programming languages and their features, to specific sections in programming textbooks, and we related them to each other. Our misconceptions are thus structured in a tightly connected network.

Moreover, we gave each misconception in our collection a unique and meaningful name, similar to the names used in various pattern languages. The form of each misconception includes a description as well as an explicit correction, and information to help teachers to detect and respond to the specific misconception.

Overviews of the Topic of Programming Misconceptions

Joha Sorva's chapter "Naive Conceptions of Novice Programmers" in Computer Science in K-10: An A to Z handbook on teaching programming, as well as Colleen Lewis, Michael Clancy, and Jan Vahrenhold's chapter "Student knowledge and misconceptions" in The Cambridge Handbook of Computing Education Research provide an overview and introduction to the topic of programming misconceptions.

Studies Including Specific Programming Misconceptions

Our Progmiscon Zotero group provides a bibliography of relevant research papers.