A Learning Module of the 0/1 Knapsack Problem Using Dynamic Programming KLA Modeling

Abstract

Kinesthetic learning is an innovative teaching method that involves the physical interaction among students in a dynamic setting. Unlike traditional methods of teaching, kinesthetic learning engages participation outside the norm of a classroom solely with an instructor lecturing and students taking notes. Previous studies have shown promising results in terms of the material absorbed by the students. Our research continues to explore the Kinesthetic Learning Activities (KLA) approach as a viable alternative to teaching Computer Science (CS). In this study, we developed a KLA teaching module on the canonical 0/1 Knapsack Problem using Dynamic Programming. We experimented this KLA approach on a group of students from an undergraduate level CS algorithms course. The participants were divided into two groups. Each group was alternatively taught using KLA and traditional methods, allowing us to precisely gauge the effectiveness of our proposed module. The students’ knowledge gain was measured through a series of pre/post-test questions. We hypothesized that the KLA approach would be as efficient as the traditional lectures if not more efficient. The experimental data collected from these tests support our hypothesis with an estimated 13.37% improvement over the traditional method.