Starting From Scratch Again and Again

As K–12 computer science expands in the United States, students encounter a growing array of programming tools. Many introductory experiences use block-based environments, where programs are assembled by snapping together visual blocks instead of typing code. While these tools can support learning, high school students often perceive them negatively, even when they support the same underlying logic as text-based coding. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, we interviewed 17 high school students to trace how early experiences, tool design, peer discourse, and cultural framings shape these views. We find that students develop informal folk theories: that computer science is about accumulating languages, that block-based programming is for young children, and that limitations in programming activities stem from the block modality itself—beliefs that can shift when students encounter counterexamples. Our findings call for more deliberate design and sequencing of tools that are attentive to the meanings students construct as they progress, and that promote more expansive notions of programming beyond modality.