PPIG 2016 - 27th Annual Workshop
Preconceptions of novice learners about program execution
Sylvia da Rosa
Abstract: The ontological problem of the nature of programs is fundamentally based on the question “what is a computer program?” On the one hand, the algorithm is the abstract part of a program (the text) and on the other hand, the organization of data and the execution of instructions by a physical device (the machine), are the concrete part of the dual nature of programs. This question has important educational implications. In this paper we describe activities carried out to investigate novice students' preconceptions about how a program is executed by a computer.