Postgraduate research students

Nicola Looker

Email: n.looker.1@research.gla.ac.uk

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166

Research title: A pedagogical framework for teaching computer programming: A social constructivist and cognitive load theory approach

Research summary

Nicola is developing a pedagogical framework for teacher educators who wish to support the development of pre-service computing teachers’ subject knowledge, with a specific emphasis on programming problem-solving practice. This work is informed by her experience with PGCE students, who typically fall into two groups: those who experience anxiety due to limited prior programming experience and those who are confident in their ability but struggle to articulate their reasoning.

Rather than centring solely on the teaching and learning of programming, the framework draws on sociocultural theory and the concept of epistemic practice to help students develop a richer perspective on what it means to engage in programming problem-solving. Through this lens, groups examine how real-world problems are transformed into technical solutions and the mediating processes that facilitate this transition; how knowledge claims, such as those of correctness, are constructed and justified; and how the nature of artefacts (intentions, specifications, algorithms, programs) and the social contexts in which they are encountered shape ways of knowing.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2026 | 2025 | 2022 | 2021
Number of items: 5.

2026

Whyte, Robert, Kirby, Diana, Cole, Elizabeth, Crick, Tom, Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166, Quille, Keith and Sentance, Sue (2026) Teaching primary and secondary computing: a comparative study of classroom practices and resources in the UK and Ireland. Computer Science Education, (doi: 10.1080/08993408.2026.2661594) (Early Online Publication)

2025

Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 and Cutts, Quintin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6368-9912 (2025) Formal School Computing Education Won't Work Until We Understand The Problem. 2025 Conference on UK and Ireland Computing Education Research, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 4-5 September 2025. ISBN 9798400720789 (doi: 10.1145/3754508.3754515)

2022

Sentance, Sue, Kirby, Diana, Quille, Keith, Cole, Elizabeth, Crick, Tom and Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 (2022) Computing in school in the UK & Ireland: a comparative study. Conference on United Kingdom & Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER '22), Dublin, Ireland, 1 - 2 September 2022. ISBN 9781450397421 (doi: 10.1145/3555009.3555015)

Kallia, Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8591-9651, Cutts, Quintin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6368-9912 and Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 (2022) When Rhetorical Logic Meets Programming: Collective Argumentative Reasoning in Problem-Solving in Programming. In: ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research 2022 (ICER 2022), Lugano, Switzerland, 7-10 August 2022, pp. 120-134. ISBN 9781450391948 (doi: 10.1145/3501385.3543975)

2021

Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 (2021) A Pedagogical Framework for Teaching Computer Programming: A Social Constructivist and Cognitive Load Theory Approach. 17th ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research (ICER 2021), 16-19 Aug 2021. pp. 415-416. ISBN 9781450383264 (doi: 10.1145/3446871.3469778)

This list was generated on Mon Oct 26 19:56:59 2026 GMT.
Jump to: Articles | Conference or Workshop Item | Conference Proceedings
Number of items: 5.

Articles

Whyte, Robert, Kirby, Diana, Cole, Elizabeth, Crick, Tom, Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166, Quille, Keith and Sentance, Sue (2026) Teaching primary and secondary computing: a comparative study of classroom practices and resources in the UK and Ireland. Computer Science Education, (doi: 10.1080/08993408.2026.2661594) (Early Online Publication)

Conference or Workshop Item

Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 and Cutts, Quintin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6368-9912 (2025) Formal School Computing Education Won't Work Until We Understand The Problem. 2025 Conference on UK and Ireland Computing Education Research, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 4-5 September 2025. ISBN 9798400720789 (doi: 10.1145/3754508.3754515)

Sentance, Sue, Kirby, Diana, Quille, Keith, Cole, Elizabeth, Crick, Tom and Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 (2022) Computing in school in the UK & Ireland: a comparative study. Conference on United Kingdom & Ireland Computing Education Research (UKICER '22), Dublin, Ireland, 1 - 2 September 2022. ISBN 9781450397421 (doi: 10.1145/3555009.3555015)

Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 (2021) A Pedagogical Framework for Teaching Computer Programming: A Social Constructivist and Cognitive Load Theory Approach. 17th ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research (ICER 2021), 16-19 Aug 2021. pp. 415-416. ISBN 9781450383264 (doi: 10.1145/3446871.3469778)

Conference Proceedings

Kallia, Maria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8591-9651, Cutts, Quintin ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6368-9912 and Looker, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-8166 (2022) When Rhetorical Logic Meets Programming: Collective Argumentative Reasoning in Problem-Solving in Programming. In: ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research 2022 (ICER 2022), Lugano, Switzerland, 7-10 August 2022, pp. 120-134. ISBN 9781450391948 (doi: 10.1145/3501385.3543975)

This list was generated on Mon Oct 26 19:56:59 2026 GMT.

Supervisors


Nicola Looker