Graph-Based Problem Explorer: A Software Tool to Support Algorithm Design Learning While Solving the Salesperson Problem

Aura Hernández-Sabaté, Lluís Albarracín and F. Javier Sánchez
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Aura Hernández-Sabaté: Departament de Ciències de la Computació, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
Lluís Albarracín: Serra Húnter Fellow in Departament de Didàctica de les Ciències Experimentals i la Matemàtica, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
F. Javier Sánchez: Departament de Ciències de la Computació, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain

Mathematics, 2020, vol. 8, issue 9, 1-20

Abstract: In this article, we present a sequence of activities in the form of a project in order to promote learning on design and analysis of algorithms. The project is based on the resolution of a real problem, the salesperson problem, and it is theoretically grounded on the fundamentals of mathematical modelling. In order to support the students’ work, a multimedia tool, called Graph-based Problem Explorer (GbPExplorer), has been designed and refined to promote the development of computer literacy in engineering and science university students. This tool incorporates several modules to allow coding different algorithmic techniques solving the salesman problem. Based on an educational design research along five years, we observe that working with GbPExplorer during the project provides students with the possibility of representing the situation to be studied in the form of graphs and analyze them from a computational point of view.

Keywords: STEM education; project-based learning; coding; software tool (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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