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Fig. 7.4 Examples of posters which present metaphors for the concept of variable
Table 7.7 Worksheet about metaphors
Worksheet: Metaphors
For each of the following concepts—a variable, a class, a function
Give at least one metaphor and explain why it is a metaphor
Explain the metaphor limitations
Indicate pedagogical advantages and disadvantages of your metaphors
7.3
Different Forms of Class Organization
Computer science can be taught by lecturing. However, one of the main messages of
this guide derived from the constructivist approach, is that this is not the preferable
way to enhance learning processes; alternatively, it is argued that in order to learn
meaningfully, learners should be active and engaged in the learning process.
In what follows, we first describe several alternative class organizations (to the
traditional frontal teaching approach), in which active learning aims to enhance
computer science learning. Then, we suggest an activity to be facilitated in the
MTCS course to let the students experience these forms of class organization.
Individual work The first, and maybe the simplest, class organization for active
learning is when each student works individually on a given task. This class orga-
nization is suitable for cases in which a computer science teacher wants to verify
that all students are able to cope successfully with a given task or have acquired a
specific skill, such as, working in a given Integrated Development Environment
(IDE) or practicing a given algorithm.
Working in pairs A class can be organized in pairs, working on either program-
ming tasks or nonprogramming tasks.
In the case of programming tasks, we mention the concept of pair programming
(Williams and Kessler 2002 ), which is one known technique of pair learning in
the context of (in most cases) a programming task. In pair programming, a pair
of students work on a specific programming task, when one student is the driver,
working with the keyboard and the mouse, and the second student is the navigator,
who examines the development process from the side, and analyzes, together with
the driver, the development process they are going through. The two programmers
 
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