Work

Pedagogy of Teaching Pointers in the C Programming Language using Graph Transformations

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Visual learners think in pictures rather than words and learn best when they utilize representations based on graphs, tables, charts, maps, colors and diagrams. We propose a new pedagogy for teaching pointers in the C programming language using graph transformation systems to visually simulate pointer manipulation. In an Introduction to C course, the topic of pointers is often the most difficult one for students to understand; therefore, we experiment with graph-based representations of dynamic pointer structures to reinforce the learning. Groove, a graph transformation tool, is used to illustrate the behaviour of pointers through modelling and simulation. A study is presented to evaluate the effectiveness of the approach. This paper will also provide a comparison to other teaching methods in this area.

Source: Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science

DOI: 10.4204/eptcs.417.7

Authors: Adwoa Donyina, Reiko Heckel

Institutions: University of New Haven, University of Leicester

Language: English

Topic: Teaching and Learning Programming

Subfield: Computer Science Applications

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4408832698

FWCI:

Cites: 11

Cited by:

Related to: 10