Studying the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics of teaching.
Blog
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Using GenAI to Write CSP Exam Questions
May is “AP Exam Season” in high schools. I have been preparing review material for the AP Computer Science Principles Exam and found that generative AI can be a helpful tool for coming up with practice questions. GenAI is not a magic wand able to produce an infinite number of usable questions, but it can…
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Iffy Understanding
Beginner CS students are quick to accept the concept of conditional statements — if <conditional> then do <something>. A lot of instruction about coding conditionals starts with real life examples of if-statements. That’s where I think the weak understanding begin… 1. if isLessonOnConditionals { 2. useBadExamples() 3. } The root concept of conditionals is program…
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A Problem with Problem Solving
When trying to teach problem solving as a process, students are very resistant to approaching it systematically. They love guess and check. As an example, try to solve this quick simple word problem: A bat and ball cost $1.10 The bat costs one dollar more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
Teaching is STEM 