Assessment Tool

Lecture 10: Loops

Content Tested: Program Schemas

Lecture Content:

Loop design and development
Code reuse

Goals:

Ability to synthesize and integrate information
Learn concepts and theories
Develop capacity to think for oneself

Assessment Technique: Approximate Analogies

Purpose:

To allow instructors to find out if students understand the relationship between a program and a schema
These responses should show how students connect new concepts to ones with which they are already familiar

Activity:

Write the following on the blackboard, overhead, or a piece of paper:

A schema is to a program as __________________________ is to _____________________________.

Be sure to explain the concept of an analogy to the students if they are unfamiliar with the term. You might need to give the students examples of completions. Have the students complete the analogy and explain why this completion fits.

Here are some sample completions:

A schema is to a program as a pattern is to a dress.
Why? A pattern gives a seamstress a guide or template to use when creating a dress. A schema gives a programmer a guide or template to complete a program.

A schema is to a program as an outline is to a paper.
Why? An outline gives an overall structure to a paper but leaves out the details. A schema gives an overall structure to a piece of a program while the programmer is left to fill in the details.

Possible Uses of Activity:

Have students write completions individually and submit these to the instructor anonymously. The instructor reads the completions and the class discusses why the analogies fit or don't fit.
Break students into small groups (2-4 people) and have each group create two or more completions. Have each group explain why their completions fit or don't fit the analogy.