A Grounded Conceptual Model for Ownership Types in Rust

Explore a groundbreaking approach to teaching Rust's ownership types in this 19-minute conference talk from OOPSLA2 2023. Delve into the systematic design of a new pedagogy that addresses the challenges faced by programmers learning Rust's core mechanism for memory safety. Discover the Ownership Inventory, a novel instrument for measuring understanding of ownership concepts. Learn about a conceptual model that explains borrow checking using flow-sensitive permissions on memory paths, accompanied by a Rust compiler plugin for program visualization. Examine the integration of this model into a revised ownership chapter of The Rust Programming Language textbook. Evaluate the effectiveness of this new pedagogy, which has shown a 9% improvement in learner scores on the Ownership Inventory. Access supplementary materials, including artifacts available for functional evaluation, to further enhance your understanding of this innovative approach to teaching Rust's ownership types.