Following Norman (1983) and Yehezkal et al (2004)

- Let T be a system of interest
- Each learner develops a mental model, M(T), of T
- The instructor has a conceptual model, C(T), of T

Goal: help students to develop an M(T) that approximates C(T)

Our context: Learning Programming in early courses

A crucial early insight was thatT is not a computer

T is strongly influenced by the programming language