The use of cellular automata in the classroom
Supercomputing '95 Proceedings of the 1995 ACM/IEEE conference on Supercomputing
Learning styles and performance in the introductory programming sequence
SIGCSE '02 Proceedings of the 33rd SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Introduction To Automata Theory, Languages, And Computation
Introduction To Automata Theory, Languages, And Computation
Introducing software engineering processes via games and simulations: a Tri-P-LETS initiative
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges
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In the computer science curriculum, finite state and cellular automata are commonly taught only in upper collegiate level courses. Teaching these concepts to younger students can be beneficial by helping students to improve their modeling skills and by preparing them for more advanced topics. This paper describes a set of lessons on automata, the motivation behind their design, the technology used, and the integration of the lessons in Memphis area high school programming classes. The lessons include spreadsheet activities, where the spreadsheet simulates a working finite state automaton, and three lessons that use the AgentSheets programming environment to introduce and illustrate the concepts of cellular automata. The lessons provide an interactive and fun way of learning that has proven effective and enjoyable for high school students.