[Bluej-discuss] bluej-discuss Digest, Vol 53, Issue 23

[Ian Utting]

Lon Levy wrote:
> While
>   a = b + c
> appears simple, it is very confusing to early students who want to
> look at it as a balanced equation instead of an assignment.

This keeps getting bought up, but it always rings false to me. So I
asked Mik and David (nearly 50 years of CS1 teaching between the three
of us), and we can remember only one instance of a student exhibiting
this confusion.

Is there any *evidence* that this is a common misconception among students?

Let's rule out instances where teachers say "You're going to find this 
confusing" and students then do as they're told.

Ian.