What Can the Reid List of First Programming Languages Teach Us About Teaching CS1?

The CS1 course is arguably the most important course offered in a Computer Science major; if students struggle in the course, they are likely to drop out of the major, and if certain key topics are covered, they may struggle in other courses later in their undergraduate program. For this reason, it is not surprising that the programming language used in a CS1 course as well as the teaching methodology is frequently a contentious subject. Richard Reid of Michigan State University kept a list of programming languages used in CS1 courses from the early 1990s until his retirement in 1999, and Reid's former student, Frances Van Scoy, continued compiling the List until 2006. Siegfried et al. updated the List in 2011 and 2015. The historical data shows the different languages (and in some cases, approaches) used by the schools reported on the Reid List. Additionally, in compiling the last two lists, there were trends spotted, with some feedback from faculty at the Reid List schools, stating the reasons for changes that they made as well as why they currently use and previously used the various languages.