The Sorting Game : a new way to teach computer science in outreach and museum settings

The Sorting Game is a game that teaches people about sorting algorithms in an engaging way. It consists of eight blocks, each with a secret number, and the user must arrange the blocks in numerical order. The user does not know any of the numbers, but may compare any two and figure out which block has a higher number. This is analogous to the comparison model of sorting. A secondary goal is to find the correct order in as few comparisons as possible. The Sorting Game can therefore lead to discussions about algorithmic thinking and other topics in computer science. This game, when completed, can be used as an interactive exhibit at a museum or as an outreach module in a classroom.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Gleitman, Adam M

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• James W. Bales.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/100661

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/100661