Integrating algorithm visualization technology into an undergraduate algorithms course: ethnographic studies of a social constructivist approach

Abstract

Algorithm visualization (AV) software graphically illustrates how algorithms work. Traditionally, computer science instructors have used the software as a visual aid in lectures, or as the basis for interactive laboratories. An alternative approach, inspired by Social Constructivist learning theory, is to have students construct and present their own visualizations. Notice that, in this alternative approach, rather than acting as a knowledge conveyer that transfers an expert's mental model of an algorithm to students, AV software grants students access to forms of expert course participation typically reserved only for instructors. To explore this alternative approach, I conducted a pair of ethnographic field studies in a junior-level algorithms course that included AV construction and presentation assignments. Through a broad range of field techniques, including participant observation, interviewing, videotaping, and diary collecting, I gained crucial insights into the approach. My most significant finding was that, when used within the context of AV construction and presentation exercises, conventional AV software can actually distract students from concentrating on activities and concepts relevant to an undergraduate algorithms course. When supported by an alternative, “low tech” version of AV technology, however, AV construction and presentation appear not only to focus students on relevant activities and concepts, but also to enable them to participate more extensively the course, thus contributing to their learning.