Co-construction of Computer Science knowledge-to-be-taught in a French context

The French national curricula for elementary and secondary schools introduced teaching Computer Science (CS) concepts as mandatory, beginning the 2016-2017 school year. This also raised questions related to specifically what CS concepts should be taught and how. Several proposals of textbooks, pedagogical kits and other knowledgeto-be-taught have been made; some of them contain apparently surprising and even what seems, at a first glance, scientifically incorrect knowledge, which could prove to be obstacles in pupils’ learning. In this paper we analyze such proposals, and advance explanations based on the Theory of the Didactic Transposition of Knowledge (TDTK). The TDTK considers that the knowledge-to-be-taught is the result of a complex process of various interactions and negotiations between the numerous actors of the educational system. We identify such interactions, which explain the existence of didactic obstacles. Being aware of such caveats may reduce the apparition of this type of obstacles in future construction of similar CS bodies of knowledge-to-be-taught.