Recursion is a powerful conceptual tool, nevertheless it is often considered too abstract and technical to be effectively proposed in lower secondary school. Here we present our experience in introducing 8th graders to recursive strategies where the active observation of recursive algorithms execution allowed pupils to understand the main features of a recursive process, to convince themselves that it works, and to unveil the mystery of its effectiveness. In fact, by focusing on the self-similarity of the input data and the possibility to delegate blindly the solution of subproblems, pupils were able to recognize the heuristic potential of recursion. We started with an unplugged activity using LEGO bricks where a recursive algorithm was executed by pupils, and we continued with an activity supported by a software tool we developed ad-hoc. The undertaking was concluded by the abstract consolidation of the basic concepts and properties which had come out during the previous activities.

Nothing to fear but fear itself: introducing recursion in lower secondary schools / V. Lonati, D. Malchiodi, M. Monga, A. Morpurgo - In: 2017 International Conference on Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering (LaTICE)[s.l] : IEEE, 2017. - ISBN 9781538608920. - pp. 91-98 (( Intervento presentato al 5. convegno Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering tenutosi a Hong Kong nel 2017.

Nothing to fear but fear itself: introducing recursion in lower secondary schools

V. Lonati;D. Malchiodi;M. Monga;A. Morpurgo
2017

Abstract

Recursion is a powerful conceptual tool, nevertheless it is often considered too abstract and technical to be effectively proposed in lower secondary school. Here we present our experience in introducing 8th graders to recursive strategies where the active observation of recursive algorithms execution allowed pupils to understand the main features of a recursive process, to convince themselves that it works, and to unveil the mystery of its effectiveness. In fact, by focusing on the self-similarity of the input data and the possibility to delegate blindly the solution of subproblems, pupils were able to recognize the heuristic potential of recursion. We started with an unplugged activity using LEGO bricks where a recursive algorithm was executed by pupils, and we continued with an activity supported by a software tool we developed ad-hoc. The undertaking was concluded by the abstract consolidation of the basic concepts and properties which had come out during the previous activities.
Settore INF/01 - Informatica
2017
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/526752
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