Assessment Tool

Java course: Conditionals

Content Tested: Applications and Choice of Conditionals

Lecture Content:

Conditional execution
If statement
Conditional expressions
Relational and logical operators
Compound statements

Goals:

Develop ability to apply principles and generalizations already learned to new problems and situations
Learn concepts and theories
Develop capacity to think for oneself

Assessment Technique: Application Cards

Purpose:

Instructors can find out how well students understand possible instances in which they use conditionals in their lives.

Activity:

We saw conditionals in a recent lecture. Here you have the opportunity to describe conditionals that you use in your everyday life.

Where do you use conditionals in your life? Describe the control flow and the events of these conditionals by drawing a diagram. Two examples appear below.

Example 1: If it's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, I wake up at 7:00 am. Otherwise, I wake up at 9:00 am. Then I take a shower.

Example 2: If it's raining or rain is in the forecast, I take my umbrella. Then I go outside.

Possible Uses of Activity:

Have students write applications individually and submit these to the instructor anonymously. The instructor reads the applications and the class discusses the conditions in these applications. The instructor might want to describe what Java code would look like for some of the applications.
Each student writes an application and explains their application to the rest of the class.
Break students into small groups (2-4 people) and have each group find two or more applications. Have each group explain their applications to the rest of the class.