Integrated View at the MTCS Course Organization: The Case of Recursion - Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach - page 215

• Research on learning/teaching recursion (Sect. 12.5): This theme examines
research findings related to the learning and teaching of recursion. The activi-
ties presented in this section relate to research in computer science education
(Chap. 4) and learners' conceptions (Chap. 6).
• How does recursion sound? (Sect. 12.6): This theme focuses on lab-based teach-
ing (see Chap. 8) with respect to recursion, and suggests a music-based activity
for enhancing learners' understanding of trees and fractals.
• Assessment (Sect. 12.7): The focus of this theme is on evaluation aspects (see
Chap. 10) with respect to learning recursion. Two activities are suggested: the
first activity examines a nonprogramming project as an evaluation tool for learn-
ers' understanding of recursion 2 ; the second activity deals with test construction.
• Additional activities (Sect. 12.8): The last theme includes additional activities to
be facilitated in the MTCS course, all of them relate to recursion learning and
teaching.

12.2 Classification of Everyday Objects and Phenomena:

The Case of Recursion

In Sect. 7.2.5, classification is introduced as a teaching method in computer science
education. Activity 91 illustrates this teaching method with respect to recursion.
The first two stages aim at strengthening the students' own understanding of the
concept of recursion; the last two stages discuss this kind of activities from a peda-
gogical perspective.

Activity 91: Classification Activity in the Context of Recursion

• Stage A: Classification activity, work in small teams
• The activity is based on the analysis of recursive phenomena taken from
various fields such as art, music, literature, and mathematics (see Levy
and Lapidot 2000 ). As mentioned in Sect. 3.5.2, triggers encourage the
expression of diverse perspectives and ways of thinking. Yet, this particu-
lar trigger of the classification task was found to be most successful with
its mental construction processes, rich discussions, and powerful analogies
for further learning (Levy and Lapidot 2000 ).
• The students are not informed about the nature of these phenomena and
their analysis should be based on their daily life experience. Specifically,
the students are asked to work in small teams and to classify these instances
according to their own criteria. Clearly, there is no correct classification;
these criteria, however, are often found to be important constructs in learners'

2 This activity relates also to Chap. 3 (what is CS and its relations to other fields, diversity of
learners).