Pitt Researchers Aim to Illustrate
the Invisible
NSF awards grant to improve tools for
teaching computer programming; results could be applied
to teaching other subjects
PITTSBURGH -Two University of Pittsburgh
professors have been awarded a grant to improve visualization
tools for teaching computer programming. Their results,
they say, will create better programmers and, in turn,
better programs, with fewer loopholes for viruses and worms.
"We wouldn't let a substandard plumber work on our heating
system, but people buy software all the time that is written
by substandard programmers," said the project's coprincipal
investigator Michael Spring , associate professor of information
science at Pitt .
"The weaknesses in programs that allow users' machines
to be violated can almost always be traced back to programming
errors that were made by less than competent programmers," said
Spring. "This research is designed at improving our ability
to teach programming in a way that will insure that we
turn out programmers who have A-level, rather than C-level,
skills."
Spring and the principal investigator of the project-Peter
Brusilovsky, assistant professor of information science
at Pitt-were awarded a three-year, $220,000 grant from
the National Science Foundation. The focus of the grant
is to extend the power of the educational tool visualization,
which allows the student to see inside an otherwise invisible
process.
In computer science, what is typically seen on the screen
is just what the program "prints." To see how programs
actually work, it's necessary to create a visualization. "Good
visualizing techniques allow you to see what's going on
inside your computer," said Brusilovsky.
Brusilovsky and Spring are investigating how to make visualization
more explanatory and more sensitive to students' differing
levels of knowledge.
"Normal visualization is passive-you just look, and you're
not really learning by looking, even if it's a nice visual," said
Brusilovsky. "Students can see what's happening, but they
can't relate it to their basic knowledge. Without narration,
they don't understand what's going on. That's why we want
to get explanatory visualization."
The researchers also want to make their tools more adaptive.
Different students have different levels of knowledge and
skill: Some need concepts to be explained in less detail,
some more. The technology will compile information on a
student's knowledge level from quizzes and build a profile
of the student's skills. Then, whatever knowledge is new
to that particular student will be explained in more detail.
In the last phase of the project, faculty members of local
colleges and universities will teach courses at Pitt using
the technology and then take the tools back with them.
Brusilovsky and Spring also will hold workshops to demonstrate
the usefulness of the tools.
The researchers say the same concepts and techniques could
be used in many learning situations where the most important
things people need to understand are invisible.
For more information, visit www.sis.pitt.edu/~peterb . |
