Programming by experimentation and example

Abstract

In this paper we describe our long term project aimed at improving the teaching of the first year computer science courses. The project is based on extensive individually designed animation and visualization programs. All programs are written in THINK Pascal for the Macintosh, using QuickDraw toolbox. There are written in a good modular style with documentation that enables students to use the source code in their own programs. A separate collection of tools enables students to easily create graphical user interfaces. The programs can be used during lectures, in closed labs, as examples of programming style, and as tools to be used by students.

We describe three examples of the use of our modules. The first is a MiniPaint programming project students program after only six weeks of instruction. It gives them great freedom to design their own graphic user interface, teaches them about software engineering and provides a challenge for all levels of learners. The second example presents several different visualizations used in presenting recursion. The programming assignment, drawing of recursive trees, reinforces student's understanding of the difference between passing parameters to recursive procedure by value vs. by reference. The third example is a program that demonstrates all sorting algorithms typically introduced in the first year course, and a number of ways it can be used in teaching.