Dr. Philip Petrov, Assist. Prof.
University of Sofia
https://doi.org/10.53656/math2022-6-6-pri
Absract. “Integers and their representation” is the first section from the curriculum for 8th grade high school Informatics education in Bulgaria. The main topic in it is the study of binary numbers. The research shows that the current Bulgarian textbooks have excessive amount of mathematical problems and very
few have direct practical applications. Furthermore, they do not use sufficiently
the inquiry-based learning approach in the lesson and there are no introductory
problems aimed in forcing cognitive dissonance. Good examples on how it can be
done in constructivist way are given in the ‘80s textbooks from the experimental
Research Group on Education. The article then presents a popular magic trick
for teaching binary numbers by the inquiry-based learning. The author provides
methodology for its more effective usage as introductory problem for the lesson.
The conclusion is that Informatics lessons should use more practical problems with
games, tricks and sophisms.
Keywords: informatics; binary numbers; magic trick; gamification
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