2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Fearless Coders: Empowering Students in Programming Mastery

Presented at First-Year Programs Division (FPD) Technical Session 1: Tech-Forward Teaching - Digital Tools to Enhance Engagement

This paper explores effective strategies for empowering students to overcome fear and intimidation when learning programming languages. It delves into the psychological barriers that students often face and identifies practical approaches to build confidence and competence in programming. By addressing common challenges and providing supportive environments, educators can empower students to thrive in learning programming languages. The paper highlights the importance of fostering a growth mindset, offering hands-on practice opportunities, and creating a supportive learning community. Through these efforts, students can develop the resilience and skills needed to succeed in mastering programming languages.

Authors

Dr. Surupa Shaw Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Surupa Shaw earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire in 2015 and her B.Tech [Hons.] in Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University, Higher Education Center at McAllen (HECM). At HECM, Dr. Shaw teaches undergraduate courses in Fluid Mechanics, Statics, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Programming Languages, Dynamic Control, Robotics, and Numerical Methods & Simulations. She has developed several undergraduate courses in the MTDE program for the first time and made significant curriculum changes to other courses in the department. Her research focuses on Computational Fluid Dynamics, numerical analysis, and applied mathematics. Dr. Shaw serves on the editorial board for two journals, successfully won an NSF I-Corp Grant in 2016 as the entrepreneurial lead for commercializing a high-efficiency, cost-effective research product, and actively reviews for several top-tier journals. She holds various leadership positions within the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has authored 25 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles.

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