Goals

In 2008 meeting at IT Vest we agreed on that the next SPOP meeting will take place in Finland, at TKK.  The main goal of the meeting is to

• strengthen the network of programming teachers in Scandinavia
• discuss pedagogical issues related to programming teaching
  
• discuss what research in programming education can provide for practice.
  

Participants

Teachers in all levels of programming education are invited to the meeting.  The number of participants is limited to 25.

• List of participants: Jens Bennedsen, Jürgen Börstler, Michael Caspersen, Michael Hansen, Jussi Kasurinen, Ari Korhonen, Jens Thyge Kristensen, Marja Kuittinen, Lauri Malmi, Marie Nordström, Arnold Pears, Erkki Pesonen, Kerttu Pollari-Malmi, Judy Sheard, Juha Sorva, Halvard Øysæd
  

The meeting will be chaired by professor Lauri Malmi, Helsinki University of Technology

Venue

The meeting will take place at Helsinki University of Technology, in seminar room 1023/1024, at TUAS -house (1st floor). Street address is

Otaniementie 17
Espoo

If you enter the main doors, take the first turn right and then right again and you'll see the seminar room on your right hand side at the end of the corridor.

How to get here:

See Map of Otaniemi campus. TUAS -house is number 37 (Computer Science building is number 30).  From the airport you may take a taxi. Driving here takes some 25 minutes and costs about 35 euros.  From Helsinki center, take bus 102 or 103 which take you close to us.  Bus 103 has a bus stop close to Computer Science building, and bus 102 stops in front of the main building (number 1 in the map).

Program

09:30
    Opening (Lauri Malmi)
    Short introduction of participants

10.00
    Session 1:   Programming education and research at TKK (Lauri Malmi)

• Brief description of current programming education practices and related research at TKK
  

10:30  
    Session 2:  Python as an introductory language in programming

• Some experiences (Helsinki U. of Technology, Lappeenranta U. of Technology)
  
• Findings from programming education research
  
• Discussion
  

12.00
    Lunch

13.00
    Session 3:  Working group ideas

• SPOP could set up a working to discuss and investigate some issues relevant to programming education
• Discussion on possible themes
  

14.30
    Coffee

15.00
    Session 4:  Research and practice (discussion)

• Programming education has been a subject of research for decades.  Hundreds and hundreds of papers have been written.
• Do we have adequate understanding or theoretical framework how programming learning takes place? 
  
• What is the real effect of research results into programming education practice? Can we say that programming education is based on research?  How should research results be disseminated among programming teachers?
  

16:30
    Session 5: SPOP future

• Discussion and decisions on SPOP future activities
  

17.30
    Closing

18:00   Dinner at Chinese restaurant Tung Hing at Tapiola center

19:45   For our Danish members: (taxi to Airport to catch 21.15 plane to Copenhagen)

Registration and fees

Participants, who have not yet registrated to the meeting, should send their registration information to Lauri Malmi (Lauri.Malmi at tkk.fi) by October 19th.

There is no participation fee.  Lunch and coffee are provided by TKK.  Dinner will be paid by participants themselves.

Contact

For any question, please, contact

Prof. Lauri Malmi (program and organization)
Helsinki University of Technology
Finland
Lauri.Malmi at tkk.fi

or

PhD Jens Bennedsen (program)
Director of studies Elektro og IKT
Denmark
jbb at iha.dk

More information about SPOP