instructional design of a workshop “how a computer works” aimed at improving intuitive...

Copyright © Susumu Yamazaki, All Rights Reserved.

Instructional Design of a Workshop“How a Computer Works”Aimed at Improving Intuitive Comprehension and Motivation

Susumu Yamazaki, Takashi Satoh (University of Kitakyushu)"Taku Jiromaru (OME), Nobuyuki Tachi (Nagoya University)"and Masafumi Iwano (NEOZEST)

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Question?

• This Slide will be published at SlideShare 　http://www.slideshare.net/zacky1972/"

• Please contact me:"

• by e-mail: [email protected]"

• by (Please send me a message if you want to be my friend on Facebook!) "

• My blog:ZACKY’s Software Education Laboratory http://zacky-sel.blogspot.jp(Sorry, written in Japanese ... )

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zacky1972

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Summary

• Our instructional design of a learning unit “How a computer works”"• Using the Role Playing Workshop approach"• Succeeded in"

• Facilitating intuitive comprehension and"• Driving motivation,"

• Because"• The students enjoyed the workshop and"• They gained confidence,"

• According to the assessment by a survey of 60 students.

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Outline

1. Background & Problem 2. Related Work 3. Approach: Role Playing Workshop 4. Instructional Design 5. Assessment

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Outline


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Background & Problem

Our Observation & Hypothesis (but it haven’t been proved) : • Background: Why is “How a computer works” important?

• Because this is one of principles of software. • Especially this is needed for students to obtain programming skills.

• Problem: Lack of Intuitive Comprehension • Almost students that have poor programming skills seem to lack

intuitive comprehension of “How a computer works”. • This prevent the students especially from debugging

because they can’t imagine how a computer behaves, which is required when they trace the program.

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Outline


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Related Work

• There are four typical instructional strategies: 1. Advance Organizer approach:

Kawamura; 2. Role Playing Workshop approach:

Maeda; 3. Simulated Virtual Machine approach:

Tamagawa University, Kimuro et al., Dolittle, Li and Li; 4. Real Machine approach:

KITE, GAINER, KERNEL, Yatsushiro National College of Tech., Tokuyama Colledge of Technology.

See Section 5.

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Role Playing Workshop is …

• To learn “How a computer works” by getting into a role of a computer.

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Original Copyright © J.Maeda (MIT) available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaIxBIclGUQ Modified Susumu Yamazaki

Masquerade!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaIxBIclGUQ


We Adopt Role Playing Workshop Approach

• Because it facilitates intuitive comprehension of students. • The results of the workshop will be correct if and only if the students

understand and perform each operation correctly in this approach. • The other approaches aren’t enough:

• The Advance Organizer approach doesn’t address the details of computer behavior;

• In Simulated Virtual Machine and Real Machine approaches,students can perform exercises even if they didn’t understand.

"• But, Masquerade is not essence but performance!

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Our Role Playing Workshop Approach

• Team work according to the routine composed of the following steps: • Read Z80 CPU machine code with assembly language; • Interpret the code according to Z80 instruction set manual for beginner; • Change the resister set; and • Write the result. ""

• No Masquerade…!

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A B C D E H LZ C

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Outline


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Instructional Design: Gagne’s Principles

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copyright © 北大路書房 photo by © Amazon

copyright © Wadsworth Pub. photo by © Amazon


Instructional Design: Two Integrated Learning Objectives

• What learning objectives do students need to achieve in order to understand how a computer works at the CPU level? • O1: Explain basic keywords and concepts:

Students will explain the CPU, bus, memory, I/O, register, kinds of basic instructions, execution at the assembly language level, and related words and concepts. (verbal information)

• O2: Trace a program:Given a pseudo-program, students will demonstrate how the CPU exchanges information between the register, memory and I/O when the computer executes the program. (intellectual skill, rule)

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Instructional Design: Learning Strategies

• What learning objectives do students need to achieve in order to understand how a computer works at the CPU level? • O1: Explain basic keywords and concepts:

Students will explain the CPU, bus, memory, I/O, register, kinds of basic instructions, execution at the assembly language level, and related words and concepts. (verbal information) → Self-Study Materials (Reuse from our previous course)

• O2: Trace a program:Given a pseudo-program, students will demonstrate how the CPU exchanges information between the register, memory and I/O when the computer executes the program. (intellectual skill, rule)→ Role Playing Workshop

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Instructional Design: Instruction items for O1

Main topics are as follows (see Table 1 for details). • Computer Architecture • CPU abilities • Mechanism and Principles of the CPU • Virtual Machines • Code Generation • Optimization "✓ These are reuse from our previous course “Programming Language

Processors”.

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Outline


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Questionnaire

• Achievement of O1: • Before this workshop, how well did you

understand the runtime environment, virtual machine, code generation, and optimization?

• ARCS before the workshop: • Before this workshop, were you curious

about how a computer works? • Before this workshop, were you familiar

with how a computer works? • Before this workshop, were you confident

about your understanding of how a computer works?

• ARCS after the workshop: • Were you curious about this workshop? • After this workshop, are you familiar with

how a computer works?

• After this workshop, are you confident in your understanding of how a computer works?

• Were you satisfied with this workshop?

• Enjoyment: • Did you enjoy this workshop?

• About role playing: • Do you think that role-playing to perform

the CPU’s actions in this workshop was better than learning about this in a normal lecture?

• Usefulness of O1 • Do you think that knowledge about the

runtime environment, virtual machine, code generation and optimization was useful for your learning in this workshop?

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Assessment Results: Facilitating Intuitive Comprehension

• Experience of role playing at the workshop leads to students’ confidence after the workshop.

• Because 31 of the 52 students who were positive about role playing answered positive confidence (60%).

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Assessment Results: Driving Motivation

• The workshop was effective in motivating the students to learn about how a computer works. • Fifty-four of the 58 (93%) students answered that the workshop was

enjoyable. • Enjoyment of the workshop seemed to relate to the students’

confidence about achievement of O1 and O2. • Improvement in student comprehension of O1 will be effective in

improving student outcomes from this workshop. • Achieving O1 may lead to the achievement of O2 in this workshop. • Students who does not achieve O1 may slightly achieve O2.

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Assessment Results: Driving MotivationEnjoyment is Relating to Confidence

• Enjoyment of the workshop seemed to relate to the students’ confidence about achievement of O1 and O2,

• Because 32 of the 54 students who enjoyed this workshop (59%) answered positive confidence.

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Assessment Results: Driving Motivation Achieving O1 Leads to Achievement of O2

• Achieving O1 may lead to the achievement of O2 in this workshop. • 22 of the 28 (73%) students who answered that they understood the

instruction items of O1 “very well” or “a little” on O1 before this workshop answered that they were “very” or “a little” confident after this workshop.

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Assessment Results: Driving Motivation Who Doesn’t Achieve O1 Achieves O2 Slightly

• Students who does not achieve O1 may slightly achieve O2. • 12 of 30 (40%) students who answered that they did not understand the

runtime environment, virtual machines, code generation, and optimization (the instruction items of O1) before the workshop answered that they were confident after this workshop.

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Summary

• Our instructional design of a learning unit “How a computer works”"• Using the Role Playing Workshop approach"• Succeeded in"

• Facilitating intuitive comprehension and"• Driving motivation,"

• Because"• The students enjoyed the workshop and"• They gained confidence,"

• According to the assessment by a survey of 60 students.

24


Question?

• This Slide will be published at SlideShare 　http://www.slideshare.net/zacky1972/"

• Please contact me:"

• by e-mail: [email protected]"

• by (Please send me a message if you want to be my friend on Facebook!) "

• My blog:ZACKY’s Software Education Laboratory http://zacky-sel.blogspot.jp(Sorry, written in Japanese ... )

25

zacky1972

http://www.slideshare.net/zacky1972/

mailto:[email protected]

http://zacky-sel.blogspot.jp

instructional design of a workshop “how a computer works” aimed at improving intuitive...

Education

workshop approach

virtual machine approach

instructional design5

computer worksaimed

background problem2

related work3

simulated virtual machine

real machine approaches