- 0545333420
Noa Ragonis
Beit Berl Academic College, Education, Faculty Member
- Dr. Noa Ragonis is a senior lecturer. She is the head of the M.Ed. in Integrative STEM Education and the head of the ... moreDr. Noa Ragonis is a senior lecturer. She is the head of the M.Ed. in Integrative STEM Education and the head of the Computer Science Department, at Beit Berl College. She is also a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Educa-tion in Technology and Science, Technion. Ragonis is a graduate of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at Bar-Ilan University. She received her MSc and Ph.D. degrees at the Weizmann Institute of Science and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Education in Technology and Science, Technion. Her research mainly focuses on cognitive aspects of teaching and learning of Computer Science and Computational Thinking, in particular in relation to Logic Programming and Object-Oriented Programming, as well as integrating ICT and innovation in teaching and learning processes. She has published over 60 articles in journals, conferences, and chapters in books. She has authored the book Guide to Teaching Computer Science (2011, 2015, 2020).edit
The concept of patterns appears in the teaching of computer science in three main forms: algorithmic patterns, design patterns, and pedagogical patterns. A pattern is the identification of an abstract structure that can be further used in... more
The concept of patterns appears in the teaching of computer science in three main forms: algorithmic patterns, design patterns, and pedagogical patterns. A pattern is the identification of an abstract structure that can be further used in other, different contexts. This paper refers to algorithmic patterns as a tool that may be applied in computer science problem-solving processes, suggests an activity aimed at imparting algorithmic patterns to prospective computer science teachers, and presents part of an investigation of prospective teachers' understanding of algorithmic patterns. The main findings of the research support the inclusion of this topic in computer science teacher preparation programs, present the aspects of the concept for which the prospective teachers show meaningful understanding, and expose difficulties they experience when coping with patterns and composing recursion patterns. The focus is on abstract abilities demonstrated by computer science prospective teachers in the different stages of the activity.
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Computer science (CS) instructors look for "good" examples that allow in-depth discussion of the fundamental concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP), yet keep the implementation framework simple. This paper presents a case... more
Computer science (CS) instructors look for "good" examples that allow in-depth discussion of the fundamental concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP), yet keep the implementation framework simple. This paper presents a case study that uses the abstract data type (ADT) Set as such a "good" example. Familiarity with the Set type and the need for relatively basic programming tools for its implementation enable to delve quickly into the desirable discussions. The paper suggests a teaching sequence that includes introducing the problem and different design considerations that relate to the structures of classes and operations; a discussion of the projection of the different designs chosen, focusing on the relations between the classes; and an additional presentation of different representations of the Set values involving efficiency aspects. The teaching sequence takes into account authentic inputs from students obtained while studying this example, and offers pedagogical guidelines for its use. The example can be used within diverse educational contexts and has already been applied in high school classes, pre-service teacher preparatory courses, and study programs for in-service teachers.
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As in the teaching of any discipline, computer science teachers are expected to vary their teaching methods, and therefore this pedagogical issue should be included in the MTCS course. This chapter focuses on how to achieve this... more
As in the teaching of any discipline, computer science teachers are expected to vary their teaching methods, and therefore this pedagogical issue should be included in the MTCS course. This chapter focuses on how to achieve this pedagogical target by using different types of questions. It explores and discusses different types of questions that computer science educators (middle and high school teachers as well as university instructors) can use in different teaching situations and processes: in the classroom, in the computer lab, as homework, or in tests. The chapter lays out also the advantages of using a variety of question types both for learners and teachers, and focuses on the design process of different question types. Though the types of questions presented are mainly related to programming assignments, most of them are suitable also for other computer science contents.
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This paper explores the fields of interest of the computer science education (CSE) community during the 12 years between 2006–2018 as reflected in the professional content of SIGCSE conferences. For this purpose, we investigated four... more
This paper explores the fields of interest of the computer science education (CSE) community during the 12 years between 2006–2018 as reflected in the professional content of SIGCSE conferences. For this purpose, we investigated four SIGCSE conferences—2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018—and identified main topics and themes addressed in the following three presentation formats: papers, panels, and special sessions. We defined five content categories derived from the different presentation content: teaching methods, curricula, CSE research, recruitment and retention, and educators. The paper compares the four conferences according to two main classifications (1) content categorization, according to the above content categories we defined; and (2) the most frequent keywords used by the authors to describe their work. These keywords were divided into three themes: CS curricula, CS topics, and pedagogy. Our analysis reveals that: (1) according to the content categorization, teaching methods received the most attention from the SIGCSE community, with curricula coming in second, at a substantial distance; (2) according to keywords categorization: (a) the most frequently used CS curricula keywords relate to CS1, followed by, at a significant gap, CS0 and K-12, following by computational thinking and interdisciplinary studies; (b) it is difficult to identify the most frequently used CS topics keywords (c) in relation to the pedagogy characteristic, the most frequently used keywords are: assessment, active learning, and team collaboration. In future work, we intend to check the consistency of the current findings with other journals and conferences in which the CSE community publishes its work.
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Problem solving is one of the central activities performed by computer scientists as well as computer science learners. However, computer science learners often face difficulties in problem analysis and solution construction. Therefore,... more
Problem solving is one of the central activities performed by computer scientists as well as computer science learners. However, computer science learners often face difficulties in problem analysis and solution construction. Therefore, it is important that computer science educators be aware of these difficulties and acquire appropriate pedagogical tools to help their learners gain experience in these skills. This chapter is dedicated to these pedagogical tools. It presents several problem-solving strategies to address in the MTCS course together with appropriate activities to mediate them to the prospective computer science teachers.
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... the Professional Development School (PDS) Collaboration Framework Noa Ragonis and Anat Oster-Levinz ... The two had previously decided that the student would teach in a 12-grade class a lesson on how to insert a new element into a... more
... the Professional Development School (PDS) Collaboration Framework Noa Ragonis and Anat Oster-Levinz ... The two had previously decided that the student would teach in a 12-grade class a lesson on how to insert a new element into a sorted list. ...
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In the last two decades, educators have been following the terminology of Computational Thinking first posed by Wing. Different viewpoints and commentaries have been adopted, and accordingly course syllabi and learning materials were... more
In the last two decades, educators have been following the terminology of Computational Thinking first posed by Wing. Different viewpoints and commentaries have been adopted, and accordingly course syllabi and learning materials were developed, particularly for K-12. The field has become a mandatory part of the curriculum in various countries, even for preschool age. The paper presents an academic course for pre-service teachers with the main aim to facilitate and instruct students in the process of building their understanding and interpretation of Computational Thinking, in the context of teaching their own discipline. The course pedagogical approach emphasizes the adoption of Computational Thinking while identifying significant, non-trivial, computational processes in different disciplines. The course model was implemented with three pre-service teacher populations studying for their teaching certificate in: (1) sciences for high school; (2) humanities and social sciences for high school; and (3) various disciplines for elementary school. The course allows future teachers to experience for themselves learning activities that are recommended for implementation with their future students. The course pedagogical approach and rationale are presented, followed by detailed course structure and learning assignments. The teaching, learning, and assessment approach yielded impressive achievements, although not without obstacles and difficulties. The details of the course presentation enable its implementation with different populations of pre-service and in-service teachers, and can also be implemented in schools.
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... Advanced Placement (AP) exams are part of the US College Board tests and are given in Java language. ... imparting the ability to select software and hardware according to defined needs, and an investigation of the personal and social... more
... Advanced Placement (AP) exams are part of the US College Board tests and are given in Java language. ... imparting the ability to select software and hardware according to defined needs, and an investigation of the personal and social aspects of technological influences. ...
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It is our pleasure to present to you the final reports of the ITiCSE 2012 Working Groups. This year's working group members came from a number of countries and worked together well before, during and after the conference. Draft... more
It is our pleasure to present to you the final reports of the ITiCSE 2012 Working Groups. This year's working group members came from a number of countries and worked together well before, during and after the conference. Draft reports were submitted via e-mail at the close of the conference and final reports were e-mailed to us a month later. Each report was reviewed by at least three reviewers who made general comments and suggestions for revision. All of the reports were deemed valuable and worthy of publication in the Digital Library and on the SIGCSE end of year CD by the reviewers. The working groups took their comments and suggestions seriously and revised their reports in light of them. Finally, the revised reports were sent to additional knowledgeable colleagues who were asked to rank the reports from 1 to 4 with 1 being the best. They were informed that their combined rankings would be used to select a "best working group report" if possible to be reprinted in Inroads. These colleagues all commented that ranking the papers was "tough", that they were all excellent, that the rankings were close, and that ranking them was much harder than they had expected. The report of the working group led by Michael Goldweber entitled "A Framework for Enhancing the Social Good in Computing Education" has been selected and will appear in the Spring issue of Inroads. We very much enjoyed our interaction with the working group members and are very proud of their efforts. We hope that these reports will be the seed for other papers in the future. We want to thank all of the working group members, working group chairs, and reviewers for their participation. This wouldn't have existed without them.
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Titles are used to find and express the main idea of a given text. This study examines the ability of 357 eleventh‐grade high school students to formulate meaningful titles for argument paragraphs. Additionally, the link between the... more
Titles are used to find and express the main idea of a given text. This study examines the ability of 357 eleventh‐grade high school students to formulate meaningful titles for argument paragraphs. Additionally, the link between the ability to provide proper titles and the ability to recognize the argument claim is examined. The study relates to three types of argument structures. The results reveal that most students failed to convey the main idea in all three argument structures. Moreover, even students who succeeded in indicating the main claim, failed to suggest exhaustive titles. Analysis reveals seven different types of inaccuracies in titles students formulated, and reasons for such are offered. Ten recommendations for teaching are suggested in conclusion.
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This chapter focuses on research in computer science education. The importance of including this topic in the MTCS course stems from the fact that computer science education research can enrich the prospective computer science teachers’... more
This chapter focuses on research in computer science education. The importance of including this topic in the MTCS course stems from the fact that computer science education research can enrich the prospective computer science teachers’ perspective with respect to the discipline of computer science, the computer science teacher’s role, and students’ difficulties, misconceptions, and cognitive abilities. Consequently, this knowledge may
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This chapter puts the MTCS course in the wider context of computer science teacher preparation programs. It first describes a model for high school computer science education model or high school computer science education that one of its... more
This chapter puts the MTCS course in the wider context of computer science teacher preparation programs. It first describes a model for high school computer science education model or high school computer science education that one of its components is computer science teacher preparation programs. The model consists of five key elements – a well-defined curriculum, a requirement of a
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ABSTRACT This chapter* presents an active-learning-based teaching model for implementation in the MTCS course, which is based on the constructivist approach. This model is used in this Guide in most of the offered activities. The chapter... more
ABSTRACT This chapter* presents an active-learning-based teaching model for implementation in the MTCS course, which is based on the constructivist approach. This model is used in this Guide in most of the offered activities. The chapter starts with the motivation and the rationale for using active learning in the MTCS course; then, the active-learning-based teaching model is introduced and explained, including a description of the role of the instructor of the MTCS course in the model implementation.
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This chapter presents an optional organization theme for the MTCS course around the concept of recursion. Based on the active learning-based teaching model, a series of themes is suggested, each one highlights a different pedagogical... more
This chapter presents an optional organization theme for the MTCS course around the concept of recursion. Based on the active learning-based teaching model, a series of themes is suggested, each one highlights a different pedagogical perspective. The themes are: classification of recursive phenomena (a non-programming task), the “leap of faith” approach, models of the recursive process, research on learning/teaching recursion,
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... In these courses, prospective teachers practice a variety of teaching situations in a friendly environment (to a small group of pupils or peers) with a close guidance of an Page 2. 214 13 Getting Experience in Computer Science... more
... In these courses, prospective teachers practice a variety of teaching situations in a friendly environment (to a small group of pupils or peers) with a close guidance of an Page 2. 214 13 Getting Experience in Computer Science Education 13 instructor. ...
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This chapter focuses on learners’ alternative conceptions. Since prospective teachers in general, and prospective computer science teachers in particular, face difficulties in gaining the notion of alternative conceptions, it is important... more
This chapter focuses on learners’ alternative conceptions. Since prospective teachers in general, and prospective computer science teachers in particular, face difficulties in gaining the notion of alternative conceptions, it is important to address this issue in the MTCS course and to deliver the message that a learning opportunity exists in each pupils’ mistake (or misunderstanding). Several pedagogical tools for exposing
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This chapter focuses on teaching and learning of data science. We address this topic in this Guide of teaching computer science since data science is an emerging discipline that computer science is one of its basic components and,... more
This chapter focuses on teaching and learning of data science. We address this topic in this Guide of teaching computer science since data science is an emerging discipline that computer science is one of its basic components and, accordingly, the two fields have some overlaps. In this chapter we take into consideration the fact that not all the students, who study the MTCS course, are familiar with data science, and, therefore, unlike other chapters, this chapter does include some explanations about what data science is as well as its knowledge structure. We dedicate special attention to the pedagogy of data science, highlighting both the learners’ perspective and the teachers’ perspective. To avoid too abstract and vague description of the teaching and learning processes of data science in high school, we present an example of a data science program for high school. In the activities presented to the students in this chapter, we aim to highlight the opportunities that the teaching of data science opens to the students, as data science is an emerging field that its pedagogy is still in its initial development stages. At the same time, the activities highlight the relevance of data science to the teaching of computer science in order to deliver the message that the teaching processes of the two fields can mutually contribute to each other.
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The paper presents research conducted with high school (HS) students (N=86) learning object-oriented programming (OOP) and computer science HS teachers (N=48). The focus was on students' and teachers' understanding of the this... more
The paper presents research conducted with high school (HS) students (N=86) learning object-oriented programming (OOP) and computer science HS teachers (N=48). The focus was on students' and teachers' understanding of the this reference. Proper conceptualization of this indicates an understanding of objects in general and of the current object, and it involves various aspects of programming variants. Students' preferences as to the use of the this reference were also examined. Findings revealed a lack of understanding of both the implication and the implementation of this; only 45% of the students expressed understanding of when we must use this; only 60% expressed understanding of when not to use this, and only 24% expressed clear understanding in their definition of this. Even correct answers do not necessarily indicate conceptual understanding, rather a repetition of definitions or programming habits, or a reliance on operative aspects of the implementation. The teachers expressed a considerable lack of clarity in accurately characterizing the correctness of students' answers.
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The Introduction presents the motivation for writing this Guide, the Methods of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) course for which the Guide can serve as a textbook, the structure of the Guide, and how it can be used in different... more
The Introduction presents the motivation for writing this Guide, the Methods of Teaching Computer Science (MTCS) course for which the Guide can serve as a textbook, the structure of the Guide, and how it can be used in different frameworks of computer science education.