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Teaching fundamentals of computing theory: a constructivist approach
Keywords:
Computer Science Education, Fundamentals of Computing Theory, Informatics Technology, ConstructivismAbstract
A Fundamentals of Computing Theory course involves different topics that are core to the Computer Science curricula and whose level of abstraction makes them difficult both to teach and to learn. Such difficulty stems from the complexity of the abstract notions involved and the required mathematical background. Surveys conducted among our students showed that many of them were applying some theoretical concepts mechanically rather than developing significant learning. This paper shows a number of didactic strategies that we introduced in the Fundamentals of Computing Theory curricula to cope with the above problem. The proposed strategies were based on a stronger use of technology and a constructivist approach. The final goal was to promote more significant learning of the course topics.
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References
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[2] M. Ben-Ari. Constructivism in computer science education. Journal of Computers in Mathematics & Sc. Teaching, 20(1):45–73, 2001.
[3] J. Bruner. Toward a Theory of Instruction. Harvard Univ. Press, 1966.
[4] J. Bruner. Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Harvard Univ. Press, 1986.
[5] J. Bruner. Act of Meaning. Harvard Press, 1990.
[6] M. Burgin. How We Know What Technology Can Do. Comm. of the ACM, 44(11):83–88, 2001.
[7] C. I. Chesnevar, M. L. Cobo, and W. Yurcik. Using theoretical computer simulators for formal languages and automata automata theory. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 35(2):33–37, 2003.
[8] R. Davis, C. Maher, and N. Noddings. (Eds.) Constructivist views of the teaching and learning of mathematics. Nat. Council for Teaching Mathematics, 1990.
[9] A. Esmoris and C. Chesnevar. Una herramienta para la simulación de autómatas traductores en la ensenanza de teoría de la computacion. In Proc. IX Argentinian Congress in Computer Science, pages 287–295, 2003.
[10] F. Estrebou, M. Lanza, V. Mauco, R. Barbuzza, and L. Fabre. Minerva: Una herramienta para un curso de lenguajes formales y automatas. In ´ Proc. of the Lat. Conf. in Informatics, 2002.
[11] L. D. Fink. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. Jossey-Bass, 2003.
[12] S. Glynn, R. Yeany, and B. Britton. (eds.) The Psychology of Learning Science. L. Erlbaum Ass., 1991.
[13] E. Gramond and S. Rodger. Using jflap to interact with theorems in automata theory. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 31(1):336–340, 1999.
[14] O. Hazzan. Reducing abstraction level when learning computability theory concepts. In ACM, editor, Proc. of the ITICSE, pages 156–160. ACM, 2002.
[15] J. E. Hopcroft, R. Motwani, and J. D. Ullman. Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation. Pearson Education, 2001.
[16] S. C. Johnoson. Jacc - yet another compiler compiler. Technical report, 1975. CSTR-32, AT&T Bell Laboratories.
[17] M. E. Lesk. Lex - a lexical analyzer generator. Technical report, 1975. Nr. 39, Bell Laboratories.
[18] H. Lewis and C. Papadimitriou. Elements of the Theory of Computation (2nd.Ed.). Prentice Hall, 1998.
[19] J. McDonald. Interactive pushdown automata animation. SIGCSE Bulletin, 34(1):376–380, 2002.
[20] C. Nachenberg. Computer virus-antivirus coevolution. CACM, 40(1):46–51, 1997.
[21] G. Taylor. Models of Computation and Formal Languages. Oxford Univ. Press, 1998.
[22] C. Teuscher and M. Sipper. Hipercomputation: Hype or Computation. Communications of the ACM, 45(8):23–24, 2002.
[23] D. J. Ward and D. J. C. MacKay. Fast hands-free writing by gaze direction. Nature, 418(6900):838, 2002.
[24] C. Yehezkel, W. Yurcik, and M. Pearson. Teaching Computer Architecture with a ComputerAided learning Environment: State-of-the-Art Simulators. In Proc. Int. Conf. on Simulation and Mult. in Eng. Education, 2001.
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Published
2004-08-02
How to Cite
Chesñevar, C. I., Maguitman, A. G., González, M. P., & Cobo, M. L. (2004). Teaching fundamentals of computing theory: a constructivist approach. Journal of Computer Science and Technology, 4(02), p. 91–97. Retrieved from https://journal.info.unlp.edu.ar/JCST/article/view/900
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