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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
When Practice Doesn’T Make Perfect: Effects Of Task Goals On Learning Computing Concepts, Craig S. Miller, Amber Settle
When Practice Doesn’T Make Perfect: Effects Of Task Goals On Learning Computing Concepts, Craig S. Miller, Amber Settle
Amber Settle
Specifying file references for hypertext links is an elementary competence that nevertheless draws upon core computational thinking concepts such as tree traversal and the distinction between relative and absolute references. In this article we explore the learning effects of different instructional strategies in the context of an introductory computing course. Results suggest that asking students to do targeted tasks, albeit supported with working examples, is not the best preparation. Instead, unstructured study of examples produces superior learning. Answering targeted conceptual questions can also yield comparably positive learning but only in qualified contexts. While perhaps unintuitive, these results are consistent with …
Engaging Game Design Students Using Peer Evaluation, Amber Settle, Charles Wilcox, Chad Settle
Engaging Game Design Students Using Peer Evaluation, Amber Settle, Charles Wilcox, Chad Settle
Amber Settle
Many information technology educators have worked in recent years to develop courses to attract students to the field. As faculty achieve success with technical courses designed to be appeal to a broad audience, it can be hard to maintain the initial excitement particularly as multiple sections of the courses are taught on a continuing basis. In this article we describe a project that added peer evaluation to an assessment in a game design course with a large non-major audience. While controversial, peer evaluation has shown some promise in motivating students to work harder and in improving certain key skills. Consistent …
Computational Thinking In A Game Design Course, Amber Settle
Computational Thinking In A Game Design Course, Amber Settle
Amber Settle
As a part of an NSF-funded project to enhance computational thinking in undergraduate general education courses, activities and assessments were developed for a game design course taught at DePaul University. The focus of the course is on game analysis and design, but the course textbook uses an approach that is heavily grounded in computational thinking principles. We describe the course activities and assignments and discuss an initial assessment of those materials. Our results show that there is a gap in difficulty between several of the activities and indicate that the materials developed help students to better learn the computational thinking …