This book provides an overview of how to approach computer science education research from a pragmatic perspective.

Sally Fincher is a Lecturer in the Computer Laboratory at the University of Kent, where she leads the Computers and Education Research group.
Marian Petre is Reader in Computing at the Open University and an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow.

Part One: the field and the endeavor 1. Mapping the Territory 2. A Preface to Pragmatics 3. Post Significant Questions that Can Be Answered Empirically 4. Link Research to Relevant Theory 5. Provide a Coherent Explicit Chain of Reasoning 6. Use methods that Permit Direct Investigation of the Question 7. Replicate and Generalize Across Studies 8. Disclose Research to Encourage Professional Scrutiny and Critique Part Two: perspectives and approaches 1. Misconceptions and Attitudes that Interfere with Learning to Program 2. Critical Enquiry in CS Education 3. Programming Environments for Novices 4. Research on Learning to Design Software 5. Learning to Program: Schema creation, application and evaluation 6. Algorithm Visualization