Rightsizing: Understanding Novice, Casual Learners of Programming

While the design and delivery of university introductory programming courses have been extensively studied, they often focus on students for whom programming is a fundamental skill. A previously overlooked group for such courses is novice yet casual learners of programming (NCP) - students for whom programming is not a core skill. This poster presents a multi-cohort study investigating social science NCPs concerning their heterogeneous beliefs and expectations related to programming aptitude in an introductory class. Using qualitative and quantitative data from cohorts across three years (n=29), we study how students' perceptions could guide further pedagogical efforts. Despite experiencing shifts in expectations and beliefs about programming, students frequently lacked context to articulate and expand on their learned skill. This highlights that the challenge for NCP introductory programming courses does not center on students already inclined to learn programming. Rather, pedagogical efforts should focus on "rightsizing" content for those who lack context-relevant guidance.