The Miller-Rabin test is a useful probabilistic method for finding large primes. In this paper, we explain the method in detail and give three variations on this test. These variations were originally developed as student projects to supplement a course in error correcting codes and cryptography.

In recent years, programming education has gained recognition at various educational levels due to its increasing importance. As the need for problem-solving skills becomes more vital, researchers have emphasized the significance of developing algorithmic thinking (AT) skills to help students in program development and error debugging. Despite the…

This paper describes Alkaline, a size-reduced version of Kyber, which has recently been announced as a prototype NIST standard for post-quantum public-key cryptography. While not as simple as RSA, I believe that Alkaline can be used in an undergraduate classroom to effectively teach the techniques and principles behind Kyber and post-quantum…

In this paper, several research topics are presented that provide productive avenues of exploration for students in an undergraduate cryptography course. The topics are intended for a variety of skill levels and interests. In some cases, a student might be inspired to try to solve the proposed problem or write computer code. Other topics might…

The study investigates the potential of anxiety clusters in predicting programming performance in two distinct coding environments. Participants comprised 83 second-year programming students who were randomly assigned to either a block-based or a text-based group. Anxiety-induced behaviors were assessed using physiological measures (Apple Watch…

Educational assessment is inherently uncertain, where physiological, psychological and social factors play an important role in establishing judgements which are assumed to be "absolute". AI and other algorithmic approaches to grading of student work strip-out uncertainty, leading to a lack of inspectability in machine judgement and…

The use of a pedagogical approach mediated transfer with the bridging method has been successful in facilitating the transitions from block-based to text-based programming languages. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research addressing the impact of this transfer on programming misconceptions during the transition. The way programming concepts are…

Physics education researchers are interested in using the tools of machine learning and natural language processing to make quantitative claims from natural language and text data, such as open-ended responses to survey questions. The aspiration is that this form of machine coding may be more efficient and consistent than human coding, allowing…

In the digital age, it's crucial to equip children with twenty-first-century skills, including programming and other competencies such as creativity, analytical thinking, and collaboration. This study introduces an integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum focused on computer science for educators. It explores…

Studies examining students' learning behavior predominantly employed rich video data as their main source of information due to the limited knowledge of computer vision and deep learning algorithms. However, one of the challenges faced during such observation is the strenuous task of coding large amounts of video data through repeated viewings. In…

This study was carried out to develop a test to assess algorithmic thinking skills. To this end, the twelve steps suggested by Downing (2006) were adopted. Throughout the test development, 24 middle school sixth-grade students and eight experts in different areas took part as needed in the tasks on the project. The test was given to 252 students…

A majority of research in Computational Thinking (CT) mainly focuses on teaching coding to school students. However, CT involves more than just coding and includes other skills like algorithmic thinking. The current study developed an Online Inquiry-based Learning Platform for Computational Thinking (CT-ONLINQ) that follows Inquiry-Based Learning…