[smarks]

Thanks for raising this issue. What you describe as "local theories" (I'd say "mental model" but I think we're talking about the same thing) is quite important. We expect beginners to come up with erroneous models as they're exposed to stuff; revising and even discarding such models is intrinsic to learning. One of the benefits of this JEP is to minimize the opportunities for beginners to create erroneous mental models.

[ht_th]

I agree. And having to re-evaluate and improve your own mental models or local theories is part of learning anyway. That's not going away with these changes. But I think with these changes, the mental models will be easier to understand for teachers and closer to the model we aim for as teachers. As a result, it should be easier to nudge students into reforming their understanding towards the models we aim for. In particular, we can make easier programming examples because we can strip simple programs of a lot of more advanced boilerplate and syntax.