Introductory Programming Active Learning Activities

1
Introductory Programming Active Learning
Activities

• Keith J. Whittington
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• kjw_at_it.rit.edu
• This material is partially based upon work
  supported by the National Science Foundation
  under Award No. DUE-0442987

2
Active Learning Theory

• If you get students
• Talking, listening, and writing about the subject
• Sharing answers
• Teaching each other
• Solving problems collectively
• It helps them think critically, and
• Deepens their knowledge

3
My Basic Premises

• Active learning is good
• Active learning exercises supplement the lecture,
  not replace it
• Speak less, do more

4
Active Learning Goals

• Reflect on current knowledge
• Deepen understanding
• Critical thinking
• Build confidence

5
Reflective Learning

• Use activities to promote student critical
  reflection on their knowledge
• Ask WHY not how

6
Design for Significant Learning
Lecture
Reflective Activity
In-class Activity
HW Assignment
7
Every Main Topic

• Lecture (What) basic information
• In-class activity (How) immediate practice
• HW (Practice) harder application of topic
• Reflection (Why) critical thinking deepen
  knowledge

8
Getting Started

• Start with low-risk activities
• Reject activities that are uncomfortable
• Build your toolbox and confidence
• Dont give up
• Some things will work, some wont

9
Activities - Low to High Risk

• Icebreakers
• Paired Programming
• Group Questions
• Code Analysis / Debugging
• Think-Pair-Share
• Rapid Programming
• Group code
• Role Playing
• Classroom Code

10
Activity Steps

• Define your objective
• Design the activity
• Tell students what to do
• Explain why you are doing it
• Display the steps to the class
• Get student feedback
• Modify the exercise for next time

11
Try and Try Again
Try Activity
Get Feedback
Revise
12
Icebreakers

• Purpose
• Get students talking and sharing
• Sets the tone for the entire quarter
• Examples
• Interview
• Lies

13
Paired Programming

• Each person has a different role
• Driver writes the code
• Navigator helps debug, find errors, make
  suggestions, etc
• Switch roles at EVERY numbered step
• Keeps them engaged
• Answer questions throughout the exercise
• Can emulate real programming techniques such as
  compile and run often

14
Paired Programming

• In-class activity
• Purpose
• Code more efficiently
• Naturally discuss questions before asking for
  help
• Questions become deeper
• Help recognize errors quicker
• Teach each other
• Must switch roles frequently

15
Group Questions

• Forces students to
• Talk to each other
• Share ideas
• Work cooperatively on a difficult question
• Teach each other
• Learn from each other
• Benefits
• Lessens feelings of intimidation
• Deepens understanding
• Critically think

16
Group Questions Enhancing

• One person write a sentence
• Next person write a sentence
• Add/improve previous statements
• Rules
• All members need to write a statement
• Vocalize your answer to the group
• Discuss the teams answers when finished
• One person will explain answer to the class

17
What is the purpose of a constructor?
18
What is the purpose of a mutator?
19
Why are attributes defined as private?
20
Types of Questions

• Ask questions that require thought
• Ask why (conceptual knowledge)
• Cover how questions in lecture
• Done after practice with topics

21
Focus

• Emphasize Why, instead of How
• Do after they have sufficient practice on the
  topic

22
Group Questions Round Robin

• Take turns doing the following
• Write one answer to the question
• Tell group your answer
• Pass paper to next person
• Continue until you run out of ideas
• You can pass

23

• List the steps required to create a java
  application.
• Do not use any java syntax, just use common words
  to describe each required process.

24

• List the steps required to create a GUI
  application that displays a button.

25

• List the steps required to have your program
  react to a button being pressed.

26
Types of Questions

• Questions that have multiple answers
• Use for programming techniques that require
  multiple steps
• Done after practice with topics

27
Purpose

• Quickly dump ideas
• Reflect on required steps
• Build self-confidence
• Demonstrates that
• No one remembers everything
• Groups usually remember everything

28
Think-Pair-Share

• Listen to the question
• Think about your answer
• Share your answer to the person next to you
• Be prepared to answer question when called upon

29
Benefits (Shown to Students)

• Learn from each other
• The answer doesnt have to be yours
• Verbalizing enhances learning
• Forces me to wait longer
• Gives you a chance to think about the question
• Participating has to be less boring

30
Tell Students

• If peer has best answer, claim it as your own
• If your answer is dumb, blame your partner
• Not knowing an answer is okay

31
Think-Pair-Share

• Purpose
• Encourage class participation for all students
• Provide students with time to think
• Minimize competitive environment
• Minimize student embarrassment
• Students sharing/teaching students
• Leads into next topic
• Displaying questions is very beneficial

32
What are user actions called in GUI programs?
33
What is an event?
34
What type of event is created when a button is
pressed?
35
What are the 3 objects used to react to an event?
36
What is a source object?
37
What is a listener object?
38
Group Code Analysis

• Wait until the specific code is shown in class
• Describe the following about the error message
• What line does the error occur
• What is the problem
• How do you fix it
• Make sure each of you understand
• Prepare to explain this to the class

39
Example 1

• public class Example1
• public class method1()
• System.out.println("Hi")
• Example1.java3 '' expected
• public class method1()
• Example1.java7 '' expected
• 2 errors

40
Example 9

• public class Example9
• public static void main(String args)
• int a
• int b
• b a 12
• System.out.println("b " b)
• Example9.java8 variable a might not have been
  initialized
• b a 12
• 1 error

41
Purpose

• Force students to look at compiler errors
• Learn what compiler errors mean
• Show that the compiler gets confused
• Develop troubleshooting skills
• Demonstrate that the compiler helps you
• Working together on complex problems

42
Rapid Programming

• Roles
• Functional class writer
• Test class writer
• Spokesperson
• Change roles for each problem

43
Procedure

• Split into groups of 3 and hand out templates
• Each card has a role that rotates on every turn
• Functional class writer
• Test class writer
• Spokesperson
• Show description of requirements
• and types of parameters
• Return value
• Put templates on board
• Choose a group
• Have spokesperson tell the answer

44
Problem 1

• Create a class with a method that
• Accepts 1 integer parameter
• Adds 20 to the parameter
• Returns the result of the calculation
• Create a test class that prints the result of the
  calculation

45
Problem 4

• Create a class with a method that
• Accepts 1 double and 2 integer parameters
• Adds the 2 integer parameters then divides the
  sum by the double parameter
• Returns the result of the calculation
• Create a test class that prints the result of the
  calculation

46
Purpose

• Deepen understanding through repetition
• Break the problem into smaller pieces
• Spokesperson
• overall understanding
• Test class coder
• process return values and send values
• Functional class writer
• get parameters and return values
• Rotating gets all involved in different areas

47
Role Playing

• Act out a HW assignment
• Class determines the objects
• Each group becomes an object
• Discuss role with each individual team
• Run through the program

48
Classroom Procedure

• User class group starts
• Create an object
• Get user input for each attribute
• Set the attribute in the object
• Add object to collection
• Get each object out of the collection
• Get attributes
• Ask class what went wrong

49
Purpose

• Easier to visualize objects
• Shows areas of misunderstanding
• Errors naturally occur that they solve
• Demonstrate reasons for OOP concepts

50
Results

• Some students said it was the single most
  important activity, and that they now understood
  OOP
• Some students felt it was the most insulting and
  demeaning activity theyve ever done

51
Group Code

• Used for difficult concepts
• Difficult for one person to do alone
• Used after extensive practice with topic
• Brainstorm a solution

52
Procedure

• Each group given a different problem
• Each group works on different aspect of a common
  code design
• Each group writes solution on the board
• Group rep. comes to board and explains solution

53
Group Code - Inheritance
54
Group Code - Exercise

• Given the method signature
• public Employee aMethod(Person p)
• Show all possible ways that this method can be
  called and how you can return the object that is
  passed to the method.

55
public Employee aMethod(Person p)

• Person p
• Employee e
• SalaryEmployee se
• HourlyEmployee he
• aMethod(p)
• aMethod(e)
• aMethod(se)
• aMethod(he)
• if(p instanceof Employee)
• return (Employee)p

56
Results

• Observe students learn
• Subsequent groups come armed with an erasure

57
Classroom Code - Inheritance

• Each group given specifications for their class
• Each person assigned a role
• Have to interact with other groups
• Code inherits from other groups

58
Student Procedure

• Create code that inherits from another group
• Each member has unique role
• Get inherited values
• Code attributes, accessors, and mutators
• Code constructors (multi-arg and default)

59
Classroom Code - Details

• Multi-arg constructors get values for all
  attributes (including inherited)
• Super class constructor called with inherited
  values
• Instructor has the ultimate super class
• Student send code to instructor
• Compile all files
• Have teams correct errors and resubmit
• At some point draw a UML diagram to show its
  purpose (ask students who they inherit from)
• Run a test program that creates an object of each
  class and displays the values of all attributes

60
Sample

• Class Name
• Team2
• Inherit from
• Team1
• Variables
• int iT2
• String sT2

61
Multiple Inheritance
62
Results

• Groups communicate with groups
• Discover inheritance complexity
• Students suggest drawing UML diagram
• Entire class engaged debugging the code