Nondeterminism is an essential concept in mathematics and one of the important concepts in computer science. It is also among the most abstract ones. Thus, many students find it difficult to cope with. In this article, we describe some didactic considerations, which guided the development of a "Computational Models" course for high school…

This paper discusses the role of reduction in computer science and describes a study on undergraduate students' perception of the concept of reduction. Specifically, based on an analysis of students answers to questions addressing different computer science topics, we present several findings regarding the ways in which undergraduate students…

The implementation of a new computer science (CS) curriculum in high schools which includes all the basic elements of traditional CS programs, motivated a research to determine how students conceive the very fundamental notion of efficiency. Since this was the first time that algorithm efficiency was integrated into a high school curriculum, our…

When dealing with a complex problem, solving it by reduction to simpler problems, or problems for which the solution is already known, is a common method in mathematics and other scientific disciplines, as in computer science and, specifically, in the field of computability. However, when teaching computational models (as part of computability)…

Presents an outline for a computer science instructional program for inservice or prospective teachers, based on a high school computer science curriculum. Describes three courses that include an introduction to the basics of computing, an overview of the computer science field, and selected topics in computer science teaching. (AEF)