Using PRIMM to teach programming

Teaching programming: Designing learning activities using PRIMM

This short course introduces PRIMM, a structured way to teach programming. PRIMM's five stages — Predict, Run, Investigate, Modify, and Make — help learners progress gradually from understanding how code works to creating their own.

You will explore each stage and discover how PRIMM supports both teaching and learning. This pedagogical approach gives educators a clear framework for planning programming lessons and guides learners step by step as they read, write, discuss, and make sense of code.

You will learn how PRIMM can support the teaching of key programming concepts, including sequence and selection, as well as practices like debugging. You will also consider how PRIMM encourages learners to use technical terms and become more confident and independent over time.

During the course, you will design or adapt a programming activity for your own learners, planning tasks for each PRIMM stage. By the end, you will have created a complete PRIMM activity and developed a clear sense of how to use this programming teaching strategy with your own learners.

Required knowledge or skills

You will need to be able to create and adapt simple programs using a programming language.

What you will learn

After completing this short course, you will be able to:

• Explain the five stages of PRIMM, and identify when and how to use them
• Design or adapt activities for your learners using PRIMM