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The study of the Education Principle in Computer Science
 Name of Researcher:
Masahiko Sato
Professor, the Faculty of Environmental Information, and the Graduate School of Media & Governance, Keio University Outline of Research:
This study attempts to develop a new educational method of 'workshop-style education' based on fundamental concepts of computer science.
We use 'workshop-style' as learning with 'creative acts', instead of using ordinary textual materials. Participating students of these workshops are not required specific knowledge, because a creative workshop involves intuitive understandings. Moreover, these workshops produce various artworks of visual expression as the result. In our understandings, these results on educational fields have an unique value as new kind of creative works, which not found in the conventional fine-arts works. It also introduce 'pleasure of interest' for everyone, for the works reflect the process of workshops which revealed original interest of concepts. We have developed several workshops about the concepts in computer science such as sorting, data-compression, or algorithm in past 4 years. In addition, we have created experimental expressions extended from the workshop. And we have attempted issuing them in social range. As the result, "the Algorithm-Gymnastics" was released as conceptual gymnastics for preschool children on the TV-program "PYTHAGORA Switch"(NHK-ETV). The purpose of the study This study focused on discovering the new educational method and its principle based on the fundamental concept of computer science. We have adopted workshop-style as learning with creative acts, and found an unique value of creative acts on educational field. We conduct this study concerning various workshops and expression activities. Generally at learning the fundamental concept, such as "sorting," "algorithm," and "coding and digitization ", we have to need advanced premise knowledge. However, by using a creative work or a workshop, it is possible to understand "the concept itself" for ordinary people without special knowledge. Thus, such trial would be definitely important for deep understandings of a computer science and contribute to increase one's interest about it. Moreover, even if the concepts of a computer science separates the scientific or engineering significance, it is interesting enough and attractive. We try to make an original creative work, based on the fun and the interesting fact that has the potential to induce a creative expression. The following chapter shows our activities done by April 2003. It consists of three aspects: development of workshops, creative expressions, and issuing them in social range. 1) Development of Workshops Every workshop activities are aimed for students of the university, in order to confirm the procedure of work. Participants of workshops understood the principle of the concept, and comprehended its essential idea with having interests either, through the experience of creation work. 'Workshop-style' enables the participants to learn by hands-on activities and it is quite useful to facilitate an intuitive understanding of the concept. In addition, it doesn't need any presupposition about participants's level and knowledge. "Visualization of sorting": Sorting is "to arrange and serialize according to kind, or size". This workshop made model animation films which processed sorting of students, shimeji mushrooms and kidney beans. They lined up in order of height as the models of merge-sort, quick-sort or bubble-sort. Participants caught up the essential concept of sorting through the experience of creation work, and knew the variations of sorting method. "Figure-writing": the workshop of expression which try to substitute writing method to drawing method. Participants were given a sheet of figure and manuscript papers, and were required to express how to draw the figure only by 800 letters. After a while, the other one try to redraw the original figure only by that text description. They learned about construction of algorithm, or clarification of processing. "Workshop of compression": Two groups were given each sentence. Each groups code alphabets and write coded pattern to a tape of paper. After trading a tape each other, they analyze the coded information and decode it into the original sentence with the coding dictionary. It is real experiences of the compression algorithm, which is usually performed only on the computer. The better strategy can be found as the shorter tape of paper. 2)Experiments to discover new creation The result of workshops is a valuable creation from the actual scene of education. Such kind of creation reveals original ideas and concepts that participants actually learned. Not only as an educational material, it has an aesthetic uniqueness and involves an intellectual interest. "What is Digital?": At first, participants analyze and measure the several materials like a stuffed-toy of pig as digitized-information. After then they re-create the original figure by using sugar-cubes from digital information. The re-created object represents a conceptual difference between digital and analog as actual form. Also it has unique and aesthetic appearance expressively. "New Canon": The video-recordings of a workshop based on the Norman McLaren?'s work "Canon". Two or more participants do acting the same dance step in the square grid field, continue repeatedly. The step is ruled to never make collision with each other. These successions of harmonious performing are associated with the unique fun at the concept of computational algorithm. We also attempt to create expressions with the intellectual attraction. Though it is not direct results, These experiments are derived from workshop activities by purifying its unique attraction and fun. "Cubic Factory" : The short piece of model animation which represents a miniature factory with sugar cubes and conveyer-line: Cubes are placed on paper-tape of the conveyer as printed-mark of 'coded-information'. The conveyer passes those cubes, and placed on 'layer-palette'. The factory finally stacks palettes and forms a solid figure of ostrich from serialized information. This kind of experimental pieces which based on fundamental concepts, has a plenty of good attractions as creative works. A creative expression from such concepts has new aesthetic and appeal, also it's apparently different from conventional art pieces which relying on one's spontaneity. 3) Issuing creation in social range We have performed experimental expression works at the university. In such activities, we also have developed several creations belong not only to the campus, but to the general public. Some creations were re-created and adding several modification to publicize them and came out to the society. At re-creating as accomplished piece, it's necessary to conserve the unique characteristics shown in the experimental stage. For example, the recorded-films of workshop titled "New Canon" in the preceding chapter was reproduced as song-and-gymnastics for small children. These have been broadcast from spring 2002, in the TV program "PITHAGORA Switch" (NHK-ETV) targets for preschool education. "the Algorithm-Gymnastics": Performing together by two players in a row. Arrangement of dance are separated by right side and left side. Each moves-and-steps with music relates mutually, and become one dance without colliding. "the Algorithm-March": The developed type of "the Algorithm-Gymnastics". Performing walking in line. It marches like a troll without colliding. When the leader shifts his arrangement, the followers do the same step delayed. One dance they do with each time lag is the one certain procedure. The march is the algorithm that can be well continued while the players repeating their tasks faithfully. |