Some pedagogical considerations in teaching first-year programming

This paper is addressed to educators and administrators planning to offer an introductory programming course (CS1) to first-year students, either as an entirely new offering, or as a replacement for, or modification of, an existing offering. The authors attempt to highlight some of the lessons learnt by educators in their various pedagogical approaches to generating interesting and engaging real-world experiences for the next generation of CS1 students. Ultimately, those charged with the responsibility of planning and developing CS1 should be guided by past theory and practice when selecting the best available options for their particular circumstances.