55467 Teaching Computer Science: Methodology 1

Prerequisites: none. Enrollment requires the approval of the faculty member responsible for teaching certificates.

Author: David Ginat

Objective: To impart a didactic approach to Computer Science instruction, focusing on basic topics in Computer Science, problem-solving heuristics, misconceptions, teaching and learning strategies, and others.

Structure: Video-taped lectures on the course website and several mandatory 4-hour tutorial sessions. The materials include self-study of academic material, group work and exercises. Students submit a final paper.

Topics: Introduction – What is Computer Science?; The Computer Science curriculum – principles and objectives; Curriculum planning and implementation – the disciplinary committee and the Computer Science inspectorate; Basic topics in Computer Science – The concept of algorithms, writing in pseudocode, basic computation model, programming algorithms; Algorithm correctness; Algorithm complexity; Recursion; Various programming paradigms; Problem-solving heuristics – Abstraction; Decomposing a problem into sub-problems, top-down design, bottom-up design, gradual refinement; Generalization, analogy; Misconceptions – Misconceptions in variables, input statements, output statements, conditional execution, repetition, procedures, functions, arrays; Teaching and learning strategies – Teaching/learning methods: motivating toward concepts/ideas, case studies, demonstrations, games, projects, self-explanation; Teaching in a heterogeneous classroom: grouping pupils in the classroom – group work, individual work, face-to-face teaching; The structure of a lesson: combining class work, lab and practice at home; Writing lesson plans; Assessment: writing and grading tests and exercises; Summary.


1No academic credits are awarded for this course, but it is equivalent to 6 semester hours.

See detailed explanation in the description of the teaching certificate in Computer Science in the Information Guide [in Hebrew].

There is some overlap in the content of this and other courses. For details, see Overlapping Courses.