Pedagogies to foster interest in computer programming in secondary schools

Presented to International Computer Science and ICT Conference Topic of interest ICT in Education: Preece (1998), in his book Human-Computer Interaction 1 notes that understanding the psychology of programming is not easy . This might be explained as the reason most students – those pursuing computer science and also those pursuing other courses have phobia towards programming. But proper introduction to computer science and specifically programming is one of the solutions this paper proposes. Teachers should adopt proper pedagogies in the introductory level, and specifically at secondary schools level so as to nurture students’ creativity and analytical thinking. Making students appreciate and love computer programming will foster skills in program design and solution creativity hence developing skilled programmers to cope with the growing ICT industryPreece (1998), in his book Human-Computer Interaction 1 notes that understanding the psychology of programming is not easy . This might be explained as the reason most students – those pursuing computer science and also those pursuing other courses have phobia towards programming. But proper introduction to computer science and specifically programming is one of the solutions this paper proposes. Teachers should adopt proper pedagogies in the introductory level, and specifically at secondary schools level so as to nurture students’ creativity and analytical thinking. Making students appreciate and love computer programming will foster skills in program design and solution creativity hence developing skilled programmers to cope with the growing ICT industry