Information Technology Reference
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general, and in computer science education in particular, require teachers to con-
sider multiple reaction options. In order to achieve this objective, it must be possible
to approach a trigger in more than one way. Furthermore, a well-designed trigger
exposes the students, while working on the trigger itself, to a rich and varied mix of
computer science and pedagogical aspects. Throughout the model stages, this vast
collection of ideas is discussed, elaborated, refined, and organized.
Second Stage: Activity . In this stage, the students work on the trigger presented to
them. This stage may be short, or it may be longer and take up the majority of the
lesson. The specific period of time dedicated to this stage naturally depends on the
kind of trigger used and on its educational objectives.
Third Stage: Discussion . After the required period of time, during which the stu-
dents work on the trigger either individually, in pairs, or in small groups, the entire
class is gathered. At this stage, products, topics and thoughts that originated during
the activity stage are presented to the entire class and are discussed. At this stage,
the students refine their understanding of concepts, attitudes, and ideas, as part of
the construction process of their professional perception.
The instructor highlights important ideas presented by the students and empha-
sizes principles derived from these ideas. In order to convey the notion that no
unique solution exists for most teaching situations in general, and for the specific
activity presented by the trigger in particular, the instructor does not judge students'
positions and opinions. At the same time, however, classmates are encouraged to
react and express their opinions and their constructive criticism with respect to the
different ideas or materials presented.
Fourth Stage: Summary . This stage of the model puts the topic into the context of
the course and emphasizes the concepts that were discussed. It is managed differ-
ently than the three previous stages. First, it is significantly shorter. Second, while
in the first three stages the students are the main actors, in the Summary stage, the
MTCS course instructor takes front stage. The instructor wraps up, summarizes
and highlights central concepts, teaching ideas, conceptual frameworks, and other
related topics that were raised and discussed during the previous three stages.
The summary can be expressed in different forms, such as a framework formula-
tion, listing connections between the said topic and other topics, concept map, and
so on.
2.5
The Role of the Instructor in the Active-Learning-Based
Teaching Model
The term “instructor” refers to the lecturer teaching the MTCS course. In what
follows, we explain the significant role of the instructor during each stage of the
proposed teaching model.
In general, the instructor has to create a supportive intellectual and emotional
environment that encourages students to be fully active.
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