The Rest Is Teaching: A Podcast for Computing Education Practitioners & Researchers Quintin Cutts on Modelling Code Comprehension
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Sep 4, 2025 Quintin Cutts, a professor at the University of Glasgow, dives into the complexities of code comprehension and learning in programming education. He discusses his research on modeling code as a powerful educational tool, citing a three-aspect framework: text surface, functional, and machine. Quintin shares practical teaching strategies, the challenges students face, and how generative AI tools shift the focus from writing to truly understanding code. His insights reveal the essential need for comprehension in the evolving landscape of programming education.
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Early Computers Sparked A Career
- Quintin Cutts traces his interest in computing back to a Commodore PET in school and then a ZX Spectrum.
- Those early experiences shaped his path into computer science and education.
Code Comprehension Is Core To Mastery
- Code comprehension means understanding the code you or others have written across multiple dimensions.
- It matters because mastery requires understanding, not just producing working programs.
Reading Code Dominates Professional Time
- Professionals spend the majority of their time reading and understanding code, not only writing it.
- Code comprehension is therefore a lifelong, practical skill beyond beginner classrooms.