Types of Questions in Computer Science Education - Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach - page 170

Here is a list of questions of different types that can be asked with respect to
these methods separately or in any combination according to the teacher's peda-
gogical purposes.
1. Type3. Tracing a given solution : Trace each method when n is 19 .
2. Type4. Analysis of code execution :
− For each method, determine how many times the loop is executed for n = 19 .
− Find a value of n , for which the loop in Method B is executed ten times. Is there
only one answer?
3. Type5. Finding the purpose of a given solution : What is the purpose of each
method? (can be asked if the problem is not indicated).
4. Type6. Examination of the correctness of a given solution : Check the correctness
of the two solutions. Do they solve the problem correctly?
5. Type9. Efficiency estimatio n: What is the efficiency of each method?
6. Type6. Correctness; Type8. Instruction manipulations; Type9. Efficiency :
− If you change the upper loop limit in Method B to be n/2 (instead of n ), is the
solution still correct? If it is, what is the method efficiency after the change?
− If you change the loop limit in Method B to be n (instead of n ), is the solution
still correct? If it is, what is the method efficiency after the change?
Activities 74 and 75 focus on the above collection of question types. The activities
can be facilitated in different opportunities throughout the MTCS course, not neces-
sarily only when the topic types of questions is at the focus of the discussion. The
important thing is to keep mentioning that a variety of questions exists in CS educa-
tion and keep emphasizing the importance of its use. For example, when students are
asked to prepare questions and activities for CS learners on a specific CS topic, this
variety of questions should be reminded and the students should be asked to use it.
Activity 74: Question Classification
This activity is based on three stages: individual work, group work, and a
class discussion.
A collection of questions is given to the students together with a list of
types of questions. The students are asked to classify the questions according
to their types. Another option is to ask the students to classify the questions
according to their criteria (and not to distribute the list of types of questions).
They can be asked first to work on the classification individually, and then
to discuss their classification in small groups, trying to reach an agreement on
one classification. Obviously, a question can be classified into two or more
types of questions, but such cases, in fact, just sharpen the students' thinking
about the nature of CS questions. After the group work, a discussion in the