A Comparison of Abstraction and Algorithmic Tasks Used in Bebras Challenge Cover Image

A Comparison of Abstraction and Algorithmic Tasks Used in Bebras Challenge
A Comparison of Abstraction and Algorithmic Tasks Used in Bebras Challenge

Author(s): Jiří Vaníček, Václav Šimandl, Patrik KLOFÁČ
Subject(s): Social Sciences, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: Vilniaus Universiteto Leidykla
Keywords: computer science education;secondary school; Bebras Challenge; abstract tasks; task difficulty; gender comparison; age comparison;

Summary/Abstract: This paper focuses on the analysis of Bebras Challenge tasks to find Informatics tasks that develop abstract thinking. Our study seeks to find which Bebras tasks develop abstraction and in what way. We analysed hundreds of tasks from the Czech contest to identify those tasks requiring participants to abstract directly or use abstract structures. Results show that an agreement among experts on stating which task is focused on abstraction is at a moderate level. We discovered that tasks focused on abstraction occur four to five times less frequently in sets of contest tasks than algorithmic tasks. Our findings proved that abstract tasks results compared with algorithmic ones did not differ in neither age nor gender group of contestants.

  • Issue Year: 20/2021
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 717-736
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: English