The classes were for beginner programmers. It's a good idea for them to sketch out a rough idea of their program before they start coding so they can get clear in their head things like what loops to use.

Note that I suggest an informal sketch, rather than strict flowcharts with definitions for each box shape etc.

There are other paper-planning tools too. Jackson Structured Programming is one. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_structured_programming)

I'd be interested to know if new programmers would still find this kind of thing useful, or if it's just confusing?