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8
Lab-Based Teaching
Abstract
This chapter focuses on computer science teaching methods that fit especially to
be employed in the computer lab. The uniqueness of the computer lab as a learning
environment for computer science is explained by the fact that it enables learners to
explore their problem-solving strategies, to express their solutions to a given prob-
lem, to get feedback regarding to the correctness of their solution and to reflect on
it, to develop large projects, to explore new topics, and to deepen their understand-
ing of the nature of the algorithms they develop. The main purpose of the lessons
in the Methods of Teaching Computer Science course is to expose the students to
usages of the computer lab as a learning environment and to let them realize how
it may improve their future pupils' understanding of computer science ideas. One
of the main messages of this chapter is that the learning of computer science in
the computer lab is not limited to programming tasks; rather, the computer lab can
be used in additional pedagogical ways that further enhance learners' understand-
ing of computer science. Specifically, the following topics are addressed in this
chapter: what is a computer lab?, the lab-first teaching approach, visualization and
animation, and using the Internet in the teaching of computer science.
8.1
Introduction
Clearly, the learning of computer science should take place, at least partially, in the
computer lab. This learning environment enables learners to explore their problem-
solving strategies, to express their solutions to a given problem, and to deepen their
understanding of the nature of algorithms they program. Further, the learning of
computer science in the lab has the potential to increase learners' understanding of
the essence of computer science—what can be done with computers, that is, what is
computable, as well as the influence of the field of computer science on the world.
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