DOCSLIB.ORG

Teaching Algebra Through Functional Programming:An Analysis of the Bootstrap Curriculum

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Teaching Algebra Through Functional Programming:An Analysis of the Bootstrap Curriculum Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2013-03-16 Teaching Algebra through Functional Programming:An Analysis of the Bootstrap Curriculum Robert Lee Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Educational Methods Commons, Game Design Commons, and the Science and Mathematics Education Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Lee, Robert, "Teaching Algebra through Functional Programming:An Analysis of the Bootstrap Curriculum" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 3519. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3519 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Teaching Algebra Through Functional Programming: An Analysis of the Bootstrap Curriculum Robert William Lee A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Geoffrey A. Wright, Chair Peter J. Rich Jay A. McCarthy Keith R. Leatham School of Technology Brigham Young University March 2013 Copyright © 2013 Robert William Lee All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Teaching Algebra Through Functional Programming: An Analysis of the Bootstrap Curriculum Robert Lee School of Technology, BYU Master of Science Bootstrap is a computer-programming curriculum that teaches students to program video games using Racket, a functional programming language based on algebraic syntax. This study investigated the relationship between learning to program video games from a Bootstrap course and the resulting effect on students’ understanding of algebra. Courses in three different schools, lasting about six weeks each, were studied. Control and treatment groups were given a pre and post algebra assessment. A qualitative component consisting of observations and interviews was also used to further triangulate findings. Statistical analysis revealed that students who completed the Bootstrap course gained a significantly better understanding of variables and a suggestive improvement in understanding functions. In the assessments, students failed to demonstrate a transfer of the advanced concepts of function composition and piecewise functions from programming to algebraic notation. Interviews with students demonstrated that with coaching, students were able to relate functions written in Racket to functions written in algebraic notation, but were not yet able to transfer their experience of function composition from programming to algebra. Keywords: Bootstrap, Racket, functional programming, algebra, functions, variables ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First my appreciation to the Bootstrap research team at BYU, who put together the Bootstrap courses and associated research. Thanks to the professors, who also made up my committee; the instructors of the Bootstrap courses, Anna McConnell and Emily Chien at Dixon Middle School, Scott Bartholomew and Blake Johnson at Vista Heights Middle School, and Judson Birkel and Courtney Ward at Lehi High School, and Kiya Hall who was a great help as a consultant and put in countless hours as a grader. Particular thanks to Geoff Wright, who helped me piece this whole project together, and Peter Rich, and his extensive consultation in and out of class, particularly the help at AACE and AECT. My appreciation to the other TEE professors, Drs. Shumway, Terry, and Christensen. I need to thank my statistics team from Dr. Eggett’s (The Egg) class, Jared Merrill, Katie Gustafsen, and Erica Hansen who helped put together the statistical analysis. A big thanks to my family for their patience while I’ve been so busy, “daddy can now play again.” I am greatly appreciative of the love and support of my lovely wife Amber – first a compiler for undergrad, now a thesis. And finally, my appreciation to Emmanuel Schanzer, the creator of Bootstrap and who has been a very helpful consultant throughout this research. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... viii 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Statement of Problem ...................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Background ..................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 TeachScheme! ............................................................................................................. 3 1.2.2 Bootstrap ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.3 Racket ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.4 Functional Programming ............................................................................................ 7 1.3 Motivation for Study ..................................................................................................... 10 1.4 Purpose .......................................................................................................................... 12 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Logo .............................................................................................................................. 13 2.1.1 Background ............................................................................................................... 14 2.1.2 Logo and Bootstrap Compared ................................................................................. 17 2.1.3 Studies ....................................................................................................................... 20 2.2 Scheme .......................................................................................................................... 26 2.3 Recent Trends ............................................................................................................... 27 2.4 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 29 3 Methods and Procedures .................................................................................................... 31 3.1 Courses .......................................................................................................................... 31 3.2 Assessments .................................................................................................................. 33 3.2.1 Questions on Variables ............................................................................................. 34 3.2.2 Question on Order-of-Operations ............................................................................. 35 iv 3.2.3 Questions on Functions and Transfer ....................................................................... 36 3.2.4 Other Algebra Questions ........................................................................................... 42 3.3 Statistical Methods ........................................................................................................ 43 3.4 Interviews ...................................................................................................................... 45 3.4.1 Participants ................................................................................................................ 47 3.5 Delimitations ................................................................................................................. 50 4 Results .................................................................................................................................. 51 4.1 Quantitative Results ...................................................................................................... 51 4.1.1 Results for Vista Heights Middle School .................................................................. 52 4.1.2 Results for Lehi High School .................................................................................... 56 4.2 Qualitative Results ........................................................................................................ 60 4.3 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 63 5 Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................................. 65 5.1 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 65 5.1.1 Scope of Inference .................................................................................................... 67 5.2 Benefit of Functional Programming ............................................................................. 67 5.3 Length and Intensity of Treatment ................................................................................ 69 5.4 Implications and Recommendations ............................................................................. 70 5.5 Summary Statement .....................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Proceedings of the 8Th European Lisp Symposium Goldsmiths, University of London, April 20-21, 2015 Julian Padget (Ed.) Sponsors
    Proceedings of the 8th European Lisp Symposium Goldsmiths, University of London, April 20-21, 2015 Julian Padget (ed.) Sponsors We gratefully acknowledge the support given to the 8th European Lisp Symposium by the following sponsors: WWWLISPWORKSCOM i Organization Programme Committee Julian Padget – University of Bath, UK (chair) Giuseppe Attardi — University of Pisa, Italy Sacha Chua — Toronto, Canada Stephen Eglen — University of Cambridge, UK Marc Feeley — University of Montreal, Canada Matthew Flatt — University of Utah, USA Rainer Joswig — Hamburg, Germany Nick Levine — RavenPack, Spain Henry Lieberman — MIT, USA Christian Queinnec — University Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 6, France Robert Strandh — University of Bordeaux, France Edmund Weitz — University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany Local Organization Christophe Rhodes – Goldsmiths, University of London, UK (chair) Richard Lewis – Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Shivi Hotwani – Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Didier Verna – EPITA Research and Development Laboratory, France ii Contents Acknowledgments i Messages from the chairs v Invited contributions Quicklisp: On Beyond Beta 2 Zach Beane µKanren: Running the Little Things Backwards 3 Bodil Stokke Escaping the Heap 4 Ahmon Dancy Unwanted Memory Retention 5 Martin Cracauer Peer-reviewed papers Efficient Applicative Programming Environments for Computer Vision Applications 7 Benjamin Seppke and Leonie Dreschler-Fischer Keyboard? How quaint. Visual Dataflow Implemented in Lisp 15 Donald Fisk P2R: Implementation of
    [Show full text]
  • From Legos and Logos to Lambda a Hypothetical Learning Trajectory for Computational Thinking
    Pia Niemelä From Legos and Logos to Lambda A Hypothetical Learning Trajectory for Computational Thinking Julkaisu 1565 • Publication 1565 Tampere 2018 Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto. Julkaisu 1565 Tampere University of Technology. Publication 1565 Pia Niemelä From Legos and Logos to Lambda A Hypothetical Learning Trajectory for Computational Thinking Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented with due permission for public examination and criticism in Festia Building, Auditorium Pieni sali 1, at Tampere University of Technology, on the 14th of September 2018, at 12 noon. Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto - Tampere University of Technology Tampere 2018 Doctoral candidate: Pia Niemelä Pervasive Computing Computing and Electrical Engineering Tampere University of Technology Finland Supervisor: Professor Hannu-Matti Järvinen Pervasive Computing Computing and Electrical Engineering Tampere University of Technology Finland Instructors: Professor Petri Ihantola Big Data Learning Analytics Department of Education University of Helsinki Finland Professor Petri Nokelainen Industrial and Information Management Business and Built Environment Tampere University of Technology Finland Pre-examiners: Professor Mike Joy University of Warwick The United Kingdom Professor Arnold Pears KTH Royal Institute of Technology Sweden Opponent: Professor Erkki Sutinen Interaction Design Department of Information Technology University of Turku Finland ISBN 978-952-15-4183-4 (printed) ISBN 978-952-15-4187-2 (PDF) ISSN 1459-2045 Abstract This thesis utilizes design-based research to examine the integration of computational thinking and computer science into the Finnish elementary mathematics syllabus. Al- though its focus is on elementary mathematics, its scope includes the perspectives of students, teachers and curriculum planners at all levels of the Finnish school curriculum.
    [Show full text]
  • A Python Implementation for Racket
    PyonR: A Python Implementation for Racket Pedro Alexandre Henriques Palma Ramos Thesis to obtain the Master of Science Degree in Information Systems and Computer Engineering Supervisor: António Paulo Teles de Menezes Correia Leitão Examination Committee Chairperson: Prof. Dr. José Manuel da Costa Alves Marques Supervisor: Prof. Dr. António Paulo Teles de Menezes Correia Leitão Member of the Committee: Prof. Dr. João Coelho Garcia October 2014 ii Agradecimentos Agradec¸o... Em primeiro lugar ao Prof. Antonio´ Leitao,˜ por me ter dado a oportunidade de participar no projecto Rosetta com esta tese de mestrado, por todos os sabios´ conselhos e pelos momentos de discussao˜ e elucidac¸ao˜ que se proporcionaram ao longo deste trabalho. Aos meus pais excepcionais e a` minha mana preferida, por me terem aturado e suportado ao longo destes quase 23 anos e sobretudo pelo incondicional apoio durante estes 5 anos de formac¸ao˜ superior. Ao pessoal do Grupo de Arquitectura e Computac¸ao˜ (Hugo Correia, Sara Proenc¸a, Francisco Freire, Pedro Alfaiate, Bruno Ferreira, Guilherme Ferreira, Inesˆ Caetano e Carmo Cardoso), por todas as sug- estoes˜ e pelo inestimavel´ feedback em artigos e apresentac¸oes.˜ Aos amigos em Tomar (Rodrigo Carrao,˜ Hugo Matos, Andre´ Marques e Rui Santos) e em Lisboa (Diogo da Silva, Nuno Silva, Pedro Engana, Kaguedes, Clara Paiva e Odemira), por terem estado pre- sentes, duma forma ou doutra, nos essenciais momentos de lazer. A` Fundac¸ao˜ para a Cienciaˆ e Tecnologia (FCT) e ao INESC-ID pelo financiamento e acolhimento atraves´ da atribuic¸ao˜ de uma bolsa de investigac¸ao˜ no ambitoˆ dos contratos Pest-OE/EEI/LA0021/2013 e PTDC/ATP-AQI/5224/2012.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the Literature on Programming Language Design Gary T
    Computer Science Technical Reports Computer Science 7-1999 Introduction to the Literature On Programming Language Design Gary T. Leavens Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cs_techreports Part of the Programming Languages and Compilers Commons Recommended Citation Leavens, Gary T., "Introduction to the Literature On Programming Language Design" (1999). Computer Science Technical Reports. 59. http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cs_techreports/59 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Computer Science at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Computer Science Technical Reports by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Introduction to the Literature On Programming Language Design Abstract This is an introduction to the literature on programming language design and related topics. It is intended to cite the most important work, and to provide a place for students to start a literature search. Keywords programming languages, semantics, type systems, polymorphism, type theory, data abstraction, functional programming, object-oriented programming, logic programming, declarative programming, parallel and distributed programming languages Disciplines Programming Languages and Compilers This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cs_techreports/59 Intro duction to the Literature On Programming Language Design Gary T. Leavens TR 93-01c Jan. 1993, revised Jan. 1994, Feb. 1996, and July 1999 Keywords: programming languages, semantics, typ e systems, p olymorphism, typ e theory, data abstrac- tion, functional programming, ob ject-oriented programming, logic programming, declarative programming, parallel and distributed programming languages.
    [Show full text]
  • The Racket Manifesto∗
    The Racket Manifesto∗ Matthias Felleisen, Robert Bruce Findler, Matthew Flatt, Shriram Krishnamurthi Eli Barzilay, Jay McCarthy, Sam Tobin-Hochstadt Abstract The creation of a programming language calls for guiding principles that point the developers to goals. This article spells out the three basic principles behind the 20-year development of Racket. First, programming is about stating and solving problems, and this activity normally takes place in a context with its own language of discourse; good programmers ought to for- mulate this language as a programming language. Hence, Racket is a programming language for creating new programming languages. Second, by following this language-oriented approach to programming, systems become multi-lingual collections of interconnected components. Each language and component must be able to protect its specific invariants. In support, Racket offers protection mechanisms to implement a full language spectrum, from C-level bit manipulation to soundly typed extensions. Third, because Racket considers programming as problem solving in the correct language, Racket also turns extra-linguistic mechanisms into linguistic constructs, especially mechanisms for managing resources and projects. The paper explains these principles and how Racket lives up to them, presents the evaluation framework behind the design process, and concludes with a sketch of Racket’s imperfections and opportunities for future improvements. 1998 ACM Subject Classification D.3.3 Language Constructs and Features Keywords and phrases design
    [Show full text]
  • Comprehension First: Evaluating a Novel Pedagogy and Tutoring System for Program Tracing in CS1
    Session1: Novice Programmer ICER’17, August 18–20, 2017, Tacoma, WA, USA Comprehension First: Evaluating a Novel Pedagogy and Tutoring System for Program Tracing in CS1 Greg L. Nelson Benjamin Xie Andrew J. Ko University of Washington University of Washington University of Washington Allen School, DUB Group e Information School, DUB Group e Information School, DUB Group Seale, Washington 98195 Seale, Washington 98195 Seale, Washington 98195 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] ABSTRACT building writing [17, 39, 68] and visualization tools [29, 34, 34, What knowledge does learning programming require? Prior work 57, 81, 87, 91]. Pedagogy has also evolved, reordering [23, 61, 80, has focused on theorizing program writing and problem solving 84, 85] and changing what is taught [14, 50, 72], rening worked skills. We examine program comprehension and propose a formal examples [58], explicitly teaching problem solving [48, 61] and theory of program tracing knowledge based on control ow paths program design [27], and exploring a discovery pedagogy [46]. through an interpreter program’s source code. Because novices Most of these diverse approaches have been evaluated in a writ- cannot understand the interpreter’s programming language nota- ing-focused pedagogical context. People receive instruction on a tion, we transform it into causal relationships from code tokens to programming construct’s syntax and semantics, practice by writing instructions to machine state changes. To teach this knowledge, code, then advance to the next construct (roughly a spiral syn- we propose a comprehension-rst pedagogy based on causal infer- tax approach [76]). In contrast, lile prior work has explored a ence, by showing, explaining, and assessing each path by stepping comprehension-rst pedagogy, teaching program semantics—how through concrete examples within many example programs.
    [Show full text]
  • I Throw Itching Powder at Tulips
    I Throw Itching Powder at Tulips Richard P. Gabriel IBM Research [email protected] Abstract program. But it also works for physical devices, biological systems, and people too. For example, when we teach a child Programming comes in many shapes & sizes. to add, we are creating a program that builds on the child’s Categories and Subject Descriptors D.2.9 [Software process existing ability to count on fingers. To the child the notion models] of adding is novel, but perhaps counting on fingers is not. At first, addition is a program; later it is an ability. General Terms Experimentation When we describe how to drive from one place to another, Keywords Agile; science; programming; natural language that’s a program that uses the driver’s ability to understand generation directions, to drive, and to recognize telltales to get that per- t son from one place to another. When people try to put together large software systems— I want to remind you of something simple: Programming large enough that teams are needed and dangerous enough and software engineering are not the same things. Neither that safety is crucial—they apply engineering techniques (as is programming the same as algorithm design. We’ve tan- best they can) to the project. That’s the start of software -en gled the several notions of programming—if we try we can gineering. When people wonder whether the program they unweave them, but sometimes we push on too quickly / get have devised really will achieve its desired purpose using the confused. William Griswold ventured this definition of soft- underlying mechanisms of the “computer,” that’s the start of ware engineering: the theory of computation and algorithm design.
    [Show full text]
  • Design of a Simple Functional Programming Language and Environment for CS2
    Design of a Simple Functional Programming Language and Environment for CS2 Brian T. Howard Department of Computer Science, DePauw University Abstract There are several advantages to introducing a functional language early in a student's college experience: it provides an excellent setting in which to explore recursively-defined functions and data structures, it encourages more abstract thinking, and it exposes students to a language paradigm that is likely quite different from their previous experience. Even in a core curriculum based on a traditional imperative (and object-oriented) language, it is valuable to spend two or three weeks investigating a functional language. However, we have found that most existing functional languages and environments pose significant hurdles to the introductory student, especially when the language is only being used for a short time. This paper discusses some of our ideas to simplify the framework, and allow students to experiment easily with the important concepts of functional programming in the setting of CS2. 1 Motivation There have been many proposals over the years to incorporate functional languages into the intro- ductory computer science curriculum, dating back at least to the mid-1980's with Abelson and Suss- man's influential text, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs [1]. They advocated the use of the Scheme dialect of Lisp because of its simple syntax and support for powerful abstraction mechanisms. Some more recent course designs [2, 3, 10] have also used Scheme, while others have used statically-typed languages such as Miranda, Haskell, or Standard ML [4, 6, 13, 15, 17, 18]. In each case, the reasons given for choosing a functional language include the support for abstractions (including recursion and higher-order functions), the simple semantics (with few or no side-effects), and the exposure to a different language paradigm and problem-solving style.
    [Show full text]
  • Dissertation
    HOWTOGENERATEACTIONABLE ADVICEABOUTPERFORMANCE PROBLEMS Vincent St-Amour Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Computer and Information Science Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts April 2015 Vincent St-Amour: How to Generate Actionable Advice about Performance Problems, Doctor of Philosophy, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts © April 2015 ABSTRACT Performance engineering is an important activity regardless of ap- plication domain, as critical for server software as for mobile appli- cations. This activity, however, demands advanced, specialized skills that require a significant time investment to acquire, and are therefore absent from most programmers’ toolboxes. My thesis is that tool support can make performance engineering both accessible and time-efficient for non-expert programmers. To support this claim, this dissertation introduces two novel families of performance tools that are designed specifically to provide actionable information to programmers: optimization coaches and feature-specific profilers. This dissertation presents blueprints for building tools in these families, and provides examples from tools that I have built. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank first and foremost my advisor Matthias Felleisen, who has taught me most of what I know today about the craft of research, writing, and design. He is the best advisor and ally I could have wished for, and I am incredibly grateful for of all the help and guidance he has provided me over the years. This work would not have been possible without the help of my collaborators, with whom I have worked on the projects described in these pages and others along the way: Leif Andersen, Eric Dob- son, Matthias Felleisen, Robby Findler, Matthew Flatt, Shu-yu Guo, Asumu Takikawa, Sam Tobin-Hochstadt, and Neil Toronto.
    [Show full text]
  • Realm of Racket.Pdf
    REALM OF RACKET REALM OF RACKET Learn to Program, One Game at a Time! (list Forrest Bice Rose DeMaio Spencer Florence Feng-Yun Mimi Lin Scott Lindeman Nicole Nussbaum Eric Peterson Ryan Plessner David Van Horn Matthias Felleisen Conrad Barski, MD) San Francisco REALM OF RACKET. Copyright © 2013 by Matthias Felleisen, David Van Horn, Conrad Barski, M.D., Forrest Bice, Rose DeMaio, Spencer Florence, Feng-Yun Mimi Lin, Scott Lindeman, Nicole Nussbaum, Eric Peterson, Ryan Plessner. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior writ- ten permission of the copyright owner and the publisher. Printed in USA First printing 17 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ISBN-10: 1-59327-491-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-59327-491-7 Publisher: William Pollock Production Editor: Alison Law Cover Illustration: Eric Peterson Illustrations: Feng-Yun Mimi Lin and Eric Peterson Interior Design and Composition: Rose DeMaio and Nicole Nussbaum Developmental Editors: Keith Fancher and William Pollock Copyeditor: Marilyn Smith Proofreader: Paula L. Fleming For information on distribution, translations, or bulk sales, please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly: No Starch Press, Inc. 38 Ringold Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 phone: 415.863.9900; fax: 415.863.9950; [email protected]; www.nostarch.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Felleisen, Matthias. Realm of Racket : learn to program, one game at a time! / by Matthias Felleisen, Conrad Barski, Forrest Bice, Rose DeMaio, Spencer Florence, Feng-yun Mimi Lin, Scott Lindeman, Nicole Nussbaum, Eric Peterson, Ryan Plessner, and David Van Horn.
    [Show full text]
  • Extensible Languages for Flexible and Principled Domain Abstraction
    Extensible Languages for Flexible and Principled Domain Abstraction Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Natural Sciences Submitted by Sebastian Thore Erdweg, MSc born March 14, 1985 in Frankfurt/Main Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Philipps-Universität Marburg Referees: Prof. Dr. Klaus Ostermann Dr. Eelco Visser Prof. Dr. Ralf Lämmel Submitted November 28, 2012. Defended March 06, 2013. Marburg, 2013. Erdweg, Sebastian: Extensible Languages for Flexible and Principled Domain Abstraction Dissertation, Philipps-Universität Marburg (1180), 2013. Curriculum vitae 2007, Bachelor of Science, TU Darmstadt 2009, Master of Science, Aarhus University Cover photo by Tellerdreher Photography, 2012. Abstract Most programming languages are designed for general-purpose software deve- lopment in a one-size-fits-all fashion: They provide the same set of language features and constructs for all possible applications programmers ever may want to develop. As with shoes, the one-size-fits-all solution grants a good fit to few applications only. The trend toward domain-specific languages, model-driven development, and language-oriented programming counters general-purpose languages by promo- ting the use of domain abstractions that facilitate domain-specific language features and constructs tailored to certain application domains. In particular, domain abstraction avoids the need for encoding domain concepts with general- purpose language features and thus allows programmers to program at the same abstraction level as they think. Unfortunately, current approaches to domain abstraction cannot deliver on the promises of domain abstraction. On the one hand, approaches that target internal domain-specific languages lack flexibility regarding the syntax, static checking, and tool support of domain abstractions, which limits the level of actually achieved domain abstraction.
    [Show full text]
  • Learning to Program in a Constructionist Way Mattia Monga, Michael Lodi, Dario Malchiodi, Anna Morpurgo, Bernadette Spieler
    Learning to program in a constructionist way Mattia Monga, Michael Lodi, Dario Malchiodi, Anna Morpurgo, Bernadette Spieler To cite this version: Mattia Monga, Michael Lodi, Dario Malchiodi, Anna Morpurgo, Bernadette Spieler. Learning to program in a constructionist way. Proceedings of Constructionism 2018, Aug 2018, Vilnius, Lithuania. hal-01913065 HAL Id: hal-01913065 https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01913065 Submitted on 6 Nov 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Learning to program in a constructionist way Constructionism Working Group 6 Michael Lodi∗ Dario Malchiodi Bernadette Spieler Alma Mater Studiorum - Mattia Monga Technische Universität Graz Università di Bologna Anna Morpurgo Austria Italy [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Università degli Studi di Milano Italy ABSTRACT skills, as is recognizing how a relatively low number of abstract Although programming is often seen as a key element of construc- patterns can be applied to a potentially infinite spectrum of specific tionist approaches, the research on learning to program through situations.Programming languages and environments can either a constructionist strategy is somewhat limited, mostly focusing help or distract novices, thus the choice is not neutral and their on how to bring the abstract and formal nature of programming characteristics should be analyzed carefully to foster a good learn- languages into “concrete” or even tangible objects, graspable even ing context.
    [Show full text]