Computer modeling of the tournament of game algorithms in the process of learning of basics of algorithmization and programming by pre-service IT-specialists

Abstract

The problems of contemporary IT specialists’ training in terms of the high requirements to their computational thinking skills as well as the urgency of raising their motivation to mastering algorithmization and programming are discussed in the paper. It is emphasized by the authors that initial university courses should focus pre-service IT-specialists on the deep understanding of an algorithmic nature of any coding task, to realize basic characteristics of the algorithms, to understand their role in modern software development. Due to the contemporary demands, programming should rest on algorithms building and has to be a part of lager scale experiences in order to realize its full potential. One of such experiences offered by the authors in the paper is involving the students into specially arranged activity focused on efficient game algorithms creation and simulation of the tournament between the algorithms. The offered activity is elaborated based on the applying the gamification elements into the learning process. Basing on the core gamification principles, there were thought over and arranged an activity involving the students into the creation of gamified products. In our case, the gamified product which the students had to develop in the process of learning of algorithmization and programming was the software platform which enables a computer simulation of the tournament between the different game algorithms which realize winning strategies. The peculiarities and the stages of the said activity are covered in details along with the description of the final software product. Analyzing the described functionality of the computer simulator of the algorithms tournaments based on the gamification ideas, we can emphasize its significant didactic facilities in the context of its using for IT-specialists training. In particular, the developed gamified product was probed in the process of other students’ mastering algorithmization and programming as well as of the schoolchildren training during summer IT schools. The prospects of the research are outlined in the lines of using the obtained results for holding the empirical research for the verification of offered activity impact on the results of IT-specialists training.