mission to mars – a study on naming and referring michael weigend university of münster, germany

Mission to Mars –A Study on Naming and Referring

Michael WeigendUniversity of Münster, Germany

Outline

1. Introduction: Naming and referring2. Design of the Study “Mission to Mars” 3. Mission 14. Mission 25. Mission 36. Conclusion

Michael Weigend, WWU Münster: Mission to Mars 2

Introduction


Names

Functions:• Identifying (making it distinguishable)• Addressing (making it accessible)


Types of Names

• explicit - implicit• direct - indirect

MomEplayer_1

My brother’s daughter’s dogflight.passengers[0]sqrt(2)


Naming and Referringto name = to create a nameto refer = to use a name

person = flight.passengers[i]…print(person)


Constructing an indirect name implies referring.Creating a name includes anticipating its usage.

Working Memory

Baddeley (1974, …, 2006)


Naming and Reduction of Working Memory Load


flight.passengers[i].name[0]

person = flight.passengers[i]first_letter = person.name[0]

print(first_letter)if first_letter in "ABCDE":...

Split

Mathematical Modeling in Science


“Let c0 be the concentration of the hydrochloric acid in the

beaker…”.

E = mc²

Naming conventions

Short direct names instead of long indirect names

Design of the Study“Mission to Mars”


Question

To what extent are students without former informatics education able to use naming techniques, when they have to write algorithms?


Workshops

• Briefing

• Phase 1: Interpret given instructions

• Phase 2: Write instructions

• Phase 3: Exchange instructions

• Phase 4: Compare the results

• Debriefing


Mission 1Naming and Referring


Phase 1 – the Model


(1) Draw a five point star. One of the tips points upwards. Write the letter A in the middle of the star.

(2) Draw a four point star with four beams a little bit below star A. One tip of the new star points upwards. Write the letter B at the star.

(3) Mark star A. Mark star B.

direct name

Name of an activity



(4) Draw circles around the tips number 1, 2 and 5 of star A.

(6) Put your finger on the circle, which is at tip number 5 of A. Draw a second circle left to this circle.

(9) Write the word Sauerstoff (oxygen) next to the right hand side of the circle, which is at tip number 2 of A.

indirect name

implicit name

62% no mistake 23 % one mistake.

Phase 2 – Writing Instructions


•8 different problems of equal complexity

•At a table each student has a different problem

Some Results


105 students, grade 9, average age 15.3 years, 57 male, 47 female (one person did not tell )

Naming Concept percentage

Explicit direct names (like A, B) 32%

Indexing 66%

Implicit name (like “put your finger at …”) 9%

Define a separate procedure (like “ to mark a polygon”)

17%

Discussion


• Most students tend to avoid to create direct names, especially for activities.

• Indexing (numbering) things is easier than creating explicit direct names.

Mission 2Naming Activities


Phase 1 – The Model


To draw a Mars habitat(1) Draw a living unit in the middle of your paper. Call it W1.(2) Draw a second living unit below W1. This new living unit is called W2.(3) …

To draw a living unit…

To draw a laboratory…

To draw a tank(1) Draw a circle.

Procedure call

Procedure definition

Phase 1 – Solution


75% no mistake 12 % one mistake



• 8 different problems of equal complexity

•Three instances of an aggregrat (highlighted)

Some Results


52 students, grade 10, average age 16.1 years, 32 male, 19 female (one did not tell).

Concept percentage

Defining procedures 4%

Subheadings (like “First part of the habitat”) 29%

Numbering the instructions (1), (2), … 73%

Discussion


Students avoid structured programming (using procedures).

Why?

• Avoid a split attention situation (Sweller).• Extra effort to create a (and rehearse) new holistic concept of activity. • Easier to use an existing concept of activity (like numbering corners).

Mission 3Referring to Entities

within a Complex Geometry


49 students, grade 9



(1) The pyramid in the right corner of the platform is called corner pyramid. Write number 1 on the corner pyramid.

(100% correct)

Explicit direct name



(5) When you move from the corner pyramid along the edge of the platform to the left, you reach a cube. Write 6 on this cube.

(92% correct)

Path-oriented reference



(5) A Cylsphe is a cylinder with a sphere on top. Write a 5 on the cube, which is on top of the Cylsphe, which is in front of a pyramid.

(92% correct)

Name for a type of aggregates



(8) Put your finger on the big sphere in the middle of the platform. At this sphere there is an arrow pointing to a pyramid. Write an 8 on this pyramid.

(100% correct)

Implicit direct name



Different structure.

Parts with numbers must be replaced . Write instructions!

Different sets of 6 parts.

Some Results - Naming


Concept Percentage

Some kind of naming (including implicit) 47%

Introducing and using explicit entity name (like corner pyramid or X)

6%

Number of an entity (“Put your finger on part 3 …”) 10%

Using corner pyramid (phase 1) without introducing it 24%

Implicit naming (“Put your finger at …”) 27%

Introducing and using new aggregate types (“Würzel”/”Cuder” for cube/zylinder)

6%

Some Results - Referring


Concept Percentage

Attribute oriented references“The cube is glued at a cylinder, which is on top of a bigger grey cube, which stands upon four white cylinders. Additionally there are two white pyramids on top of the big cube.”

55%

Path-oriented references“The arrow points to a small cube. This is in front of a bigger cube. On the bigger cube there is a sphere. Write number 5 on this sphere.”

90%

Aggregate-oriented references“You see a row of cubes. On top of each cube there is a sphere. Beside one cube with a sphere on top there is another sphere. Write number 6 on the sphere, which is on top of this cube.

57%

Conclusion


Conclusion


Thank you for your attention!

• Students (grades 9 and 10, without specific training) avoid creating explicit and direct names.

• Naming and referring are essential facets of modeling, algorithm development and communication.

• For this competence we need informatics education!

Reste (please ignore the following)


Algorithm Comprehension


Weigend 2009

149 children, 3rd and 4th grade (age 9-10),

“Draw thing number Ups + 1 in the middle of Main Road.”

53% correct7 questions

Phonological Loop – Word Length Effect

Number of stored items = Number of Items that can be articulated in 2 secs

Baddeley 2003: Recall of a five-words-sequence:One syllable each: 90%Five syllables each: 50%

Ellis & Hennelley 1980:Digit span of Welsh speaking children is lower.Welsh digits (385ms) take longer to articulate than their English equivalents (321ms)




(3) A Threesphe consists of three spheres, which are connected vertically. One of the Threesphes has got a dark sphere in the middle. Write number 3 on the cube, which is beside this Threesphe on the platform.

(96% correct)

Names for types of aggregates

Aggregate-oriented reference

Naming and TypingA name may be connected to a type inducing semantics

Javaint add(int a, int b){ int r; r = a + b; return r; }

Everyday life• Mister Jones• A streetcar named Desire


mission to mars – a study on naming and referring michael weigend university of münster, germany

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conclusionmichael weigend