Game programming in CS0: a scaffolded approach

In an effort to appeal to students who would not traditionally take a Computer Science course, we have created a CS0 course that scaffolds students into (basic) game programming using first the GameMaker tool and then C#. Our goal was to create an engaging, accessible course that that would attract students who had not previously taken any Computer Science courses, and that would provide them with a firm foundation of programming knowledge. Pre-term and post-term testing indicated that students learned a substantial amount using this approach, and that students preferred this scaffolded approach to a single-language approach overall.

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