Searching and sorting algorithms

[Liam]

Been asked by a member of staff what the above could mean.

 

Any ideas?

 

How could this be integrated into a lesson?

[PICNIC]

Bubble sort and that sort of thing I would imagine. Used to know how they worked but not used them for a long time

[mats]

New stuff for KS3 curriculum IIRC. Wikipedia will have this - look for 'bubble sort' or just 'search algorithms'. Given that few teachers have ever studied programming I'd imaging most would panic at that stuff.

[dhicks]

How could this be integrated into a lesson?

 

Sorting algorithms are good to do as a whole-class activity - give each pupil a card with a bit of data on and have someone process them into a sorted list in some way.

[Iain]

When I've covered these topics in after school clubs in the past, I've adapted some of the activities from the Computer Science Unplugged website, which has some excellent resources for explaining these topics in an easy to understand way:

 

Searching Algorithms | Computer Science Unplugged

Sorting Algorithms | Computer Science Unplugged

 

As dhicks says, these are good topics for whole class discussions/activities.

 

Iain

Edited February 25, 2013 by Iain

[SpuffMonkey]

You need to read

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Art-Computer-Programming-Fundamental/dp/0201896834/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361833753&sr=8-1

 

proper stuff! I found it very helpful when I was a trainee programmer - I guess very few people write from the floor upwards now as most algorithms are available in libraries.

[PICNIC]

Speak to your maths teachers, my wife is one and uses all sorts of activities (part of decision maths at A level), they even did this...

 

 

Edited February 26, 2013 by PICNIC

[laserblazer]

A Prime number generator is a good starting point as the kids understand the rules for determining them, so it is easier for them to get their heads around the steps involved. It's also an easy one to refine based on the rules. For example, you don't need to check even numbers.