From Coder to Programmer

This paper is a reflection on a module designed to help Computer Science students transition from beginning coders to intermediate programmers in the first two years of their degree. On the technical side, it discusses the topics in the module and the reasons for choosing them, and their connection to the second-year software project that my module prepares students for. On the pedagogical side, it considers the appropriate way to deliver the material in such a module, drawing on a three-stage model based on guidelines by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The paper concludes with a brief evaluation of the first time this module was taught.