Lesson Idea | CT Foundations - Introduction to Decomposition

Summary

This activity explores the concept of Decomposition, which is one of the four foundations of Computational Thinking. Decomposition is the process of breaking down a problem into a number of smaller problems that can then more easily be understood and addressed.

Target group: Participants must understand the cards they are playing with (their values and how to order them) and know how to add.

Duration: 30-50 minutes

Learning goals: The objective is to learn, in a practical way, the concept of Decomposition used in Computer Science. It begins with an activity far removed from the computing field and then relates it to problem-solving, computer programming, or data structures.

Online/offline: Offline

Computational Thinking:
General skills: teamwork, logical thinking, problem-solving, and decision making
CT foundations: Decomposition

Materials:
Two decks of cards for each group, typically poker cards (80-100 cards for each group)
A stopwatch (typically a mobile phone timer)

Preparation:
Divide the class into groups of 4 to 8 students around a table.
Each group needs two decks of cards. You can also use the printable cards provided in Appendix 1.

General Introduction to the Four CT Foundation Lessons

Ask the students:
What do you know about how computers and telephones work?
Can they think for themselves? (Why or why not?)
Who controls what a computer does?

Explain to the students that they are going to work on Computational Thinking. Simply put, this involves learning how to get a computer to solve a problem for you. It is not merely programming, but also, for example, learning how to break down a problem into pieces, or recognizing patterns so you can better solve a problem. There are four main foundations of CT:
Decomposition: Dividing a problem into small pieces.
Pattern recognition: Looking for similarities or patterns within those small pieces that can help you solve the problem.
Abstraction: Distinguishing between the main and secondary issues. What is really important to solve the problem?
Algorithms: Coming up with step-by-step instructions to solve the problem.

In this lesson, you will be introduced to Decomposition.

For more information, please visit CTPrimEd website.