Persistence of Early Misconceptions Hinders Progress in Learning Computer Programming

<italic>Contribution:</italic> The purpose of this study is: 1) to identify students’ early misconceptions in problem understanding and the use of variables/sequencing in a first-year computer programming course using Python; 2) to quantify how early misconceptions evolve over time; and 3) to characterize how misconceptions in the use of variables/sequencing affect learning more advanced computer programming concepts.</p><p><italic>Background:</italic> It has not been clearly established how early misconceptions evolve over time and how they affect learning later in the semester.</p><p><italic>Research Questions:</italic> 1) What are the most common misconceptions in the use of variables/sequencing in a first-year Python course? 2) do those early misconceptions persist late in the semester? and 3) does the persistence of misconceptions in variable/sequencing hinder progress in learning more advanced computer programming concepts?</p><p><italic>Methodology:</italic> We assessed student performance (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n =116$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) in multiple choice and short-answer questions that involved reading and/or writing small flowcharts or snippets of Python code.</p><p><italic>Findings:</italic> Problem understanding remains a challenge for ~45% of students until the end of the semester. Misconceptions in variable assignment/sequencing persist late in the semester for ~20% of students, hindering their progress in learning more advanced computer programming concepts.