# Misconceptions

Students don't come into programming as blank slates. They have ideas about how code works based on previous experience, pop culture, and from completely un-related intuitions about the world. This means that the main goal of an intro programming class isn't to build your students' understanding from scratch, it's actually to make sure that their existing understanding is correct!

## References

> See also: [Pedagogical Content Knowledge](/teacher-curriculum/topics/pedagogical-content-knowledge.md)

* About Misconceptions
  * [Misconceptions as Barriers to Understanding](https://www.nap.edu/read/5287/chapter/5)
  * [How Do I Get My Students Over Their Alternative Conceptions](https://www.apa.org/education/k12/misconceptions)
* teachtogether.tech: [What misconceptions do novices have?](https://teachtogether.tech/#s:pck-misunderstand)
* [pd4c](http://www.pd4cs.org/): [Common Misconceptions](http://www.pd4cs.org/mc-index/)
* copmutinged
  * [Addressing Misconceptions with Contrasts](https://computinged.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/addressing-computer-science-student-misconceptions-with-contrasts/)
  * [Misconceptions are Surpressed, not Supplanted](https://computinged.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/science-education-research-misconceptions-are-surpressed-not-supplanted/)
  * [Notional Machines and Misconceptions](https://computinged.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/notional-machines-and-misconceptions-in-cs-developing-a-research-agenda-at-dagstuhl/)


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