The Problem …
The hardest lesson I teach is trying to get students to plan a solution to a problem. I start this lesson by doing a group knot. The lesson and pictures are linked on the computer ethics link / student work on my web page at The students cross hands in a circle, then try and get untangled. After lots of laughs and wondering why we are playing this game, we discuss the connection between this and planning a computer program or a web page. We discuss what could have been done differently to make it easier. We also discuss the teamwork and leadership needed to solve the problem, a tangled knot of hands. One group even managed to connect the lesson to computer ethics because one member kept letting go of hands, that is, cheated. I wanted them to understand perseverance and not giving up. Throughout the school year, I relate this game to the current problem they are facing.
I measure the success of this and other units by the questions the students ask. Since knowledge is nothing more then answers to question, if the students ask the "right" questions, I know they have learned. They have to master enough to be able to know what to ask. I then observe to see if they put into practice the design recipe, or algorithm, that is, the steps to solve the problem. When their computer program will not run, we go back to the original plans to see where the error lies. This is sometimes with one student and other times with the whole class. It is in a continual dialogue where I reply with another question to their question, which lets me know they have mastered the material. If a student only replies with answers, and does not come up with the next question that should be asked, I know they need more practice to make the connection to the next step.
I also measure success by looking at the product the students produce. I spend more time moving around the class monitoring student work in action, then on testing. They have the opportunity to improve work before a grade is assigned. Often I ask them to assign their own grade. I ask, “how do you think you did?” I find students work harder when their work is personalized and useful. They can connect their product to lesson links on my web pages. I also have students write programs that integrate topics from other classes. A measure of success is their ability to integrate concepts and make connections to prior learning. This is like the group of students did in the group knot lesson. Problem solving is nothing more then exploring the data they know, planning how to process and interpret that information, and then producing new output which connects to the original data. A knot of hands can produce a new circle.