What are the specifics of the computer programming learning process in primary and secondary schools (K-12)? Are there significant differences from the college level? How can instructors prevent students’ programming misconceptions? Which would be the best approach? This paper addresses such questions. One of the challenges is the required abstraction thinking, which is reached after the age of 12. In this context, attracting K-12 students to the affective dimension of programming becomes crucial. This implies properly choosing the programming language and the learning context.

The programming languages for novices should be simple, with the learning focus on semantics rather than syntax. Such languages should be an “easy-start,” offering a visually intuitive environment. This allows teachers to shift the learning context from problem solving to programming games, storytelling, and animation, which in turn improves motivation.

The paper considers three languages: Scratch (a visual mini-language using a simple block-like interface), Logo (a text-based mini-language with visual feedback), and Python (including its Turtle library). Which one is nest for avoiding the misconceptions made by novices while learning computers (the most common novice misconceptions are loop related)? The paper presents in detail a research experiment on 207 students (10 to 12 years old) engaging in several tasks (sequencing, simple loop, nested loop, two loops) in the three languages. Based on the experiment, the authors recommend using Scratch for programming games to highly facilitate the learning process.