Download - EBeckett: Using The Work Of Samuel Beckett To Teach Fundamental Computing Concepts Damian Gordon
eBeckett: Using The Work Of Samuel Beckett To Teach
Fundamental Computing Concepts
Damian Gordon
Motivation
• Learning to program can initially be very difficult
• Two barriers to learning this skill are;
– the abstract nature of programming, concepts such as variables, data types, arrays, etc. have no real world counterparts, and
– programming requires an exactness of specification that contrasts strongly with the flexible nature of the
English language.
Teaching
by
Analogy
So…
• To understand how to program, you need to know how a computer computes…
So…
• To understand how to program, you need to know how a computer computes…
• von Neumann Architecture: This means that they execute programs by accessing both instructions and data on the same storage device, which makes the computer a very flexible device.
So…
• To understand how to program, you need to know how a computer computes…
• von Neumann Architecture: This means that they execute programs by accessing both instructions and data on the same storage device, which makes the computer a very flexible device.
• The computer performs the following sequence of steps;
• Fetch the next instruction from memory at the address in the program counter
• Decode the instruction using the control unit• Increment the program counter• The control unit commands the rest of the computer to execute the
instruction• Go to step 1
So…
• To understand how to program, you need to know how a computer computes…
• von Neumann Architecture: This means that they execute programs by accessing both instructions and data on the same storage device, which makes the computer a very flexible device.
• The computer performs the following sequence of steps;• Fetch the next instruction from memory at the address in the program counter• Decode the instruction using the control unit• Increment the program counter• The control unit commands the rest of the computer to execute the instruction• Go to step 1
• Fetch-Decode-Execute (FDE) cycle.
But…
• How do we explain all this to the students?
• We say that there’s a little man computer inside it ;-)
Cartesian Theatre
Cartesian Theatre
Cartesian Theatreof the Absurd
Beckett's most perfect piece of writing for the theatre
Krapp’s Last Tape
Krapp’s Last Tape:An Extended Analogy
Little Man Computer Krappthe LMC room Krapp's Denthe stored information Krapp's Tapes
The analogy of the LMC paradigm becomes the extended analogy of "Krapp's Last Tape" which will hopefully be more dramatic and memorable for the students.
Krapp’s Last Tape:An Extended Analogy
Student’s required to undertakes exercisesbased on KLT and …
Nexus Model of Learning Styles
Nexus Model of Learning Styles
Some Feedback
• "Good practice for understanding specifications“
• "It was a bit of a laugh and brought the class together“
• "It made me think outside the box"
Some Results
Some Results
Some Results
Some Results
Idea’s Encountered
• Stored Program
• Indirection (pointers)
• Analysis of complex requirements
• Serle’s Chinese Room Problem
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Questions
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