The case for non-linguistic approach to teaching engineering thinking

Abstract

This paper argues that lectures are becoming less and less effective when it comes to teaching programming, and that there are methods of doing it using software solutions which take into account how the human brain processes code. This paper will provide several concrete examples of how software enables students to learn the “spirit of engineering and problem solving”. Lastly, it argues that teaching programming without using textual explanations can be more effective in some contexts, and identifies several key aspects of using software that allow teaching major programming concepts without using textual information in order to make the whole learning process more efficient.