Learning by Game-Building A Novel Approach to Theoretical Computer Science Education

This paper describes an innovative method for teaching modelling skills in theoretical computer science (e.g. finite state automata, Turing machines). Students acquire a new modelling skill by completing a game-building assignment in which there is a direct and transparent mapping between the game that the student is building and the model in the framework they are trying to master. Through this constructionist approach, the student not only learns by doings which potentially contributes to understanding, but there is also a significant element of personalization and choice present, which has the potential to increase both motivation and performance.