Teaching Recursion to Junior-High School Students by Using Fractals: A Complete Lesson Plan in Python

Abstract

Recursion and functional programming are two programming techniques that go beyond the framework requirements but they are fundamental to learning to program. Recursion is an important idea in computer science and has traditionally been a difficult concept for students to understand, both as a control structure and as an analytic tool. Comprehension of the way programmes are developed bears a number of obstacles especially for 3rd Grade Junior High School students who need to get accustomed to recursion. Α one-teaching-hour lesson plan intended for pupils of the 3rd Grade of Junior High School about teaching recursion through python in combination with its turtle library is proposed. The teaching proposal of the specific method utilises a special category of sets which are called fractals. Since the students will be familiarised with a difficult programming technique without, however, being taught mathematical concepts that are difficult to understand, it is expected to have a more positive outlook towards key concepts and in turn to programming. With the introduction of this approach, students acquired understanding of the concept of coding recursion and applied it in the higher-level programming. In addition, our teaching approach made students enthusiastic, motivated and engaged with the learning of usually difficult subjects.