On Beyond Sudoku: Pencil Puzzles as an Engaging Problem Domain for Introductory Computer Science

这个项目调查了铅笔谜题作为丰富多样的问题来源的使用，这些问题对所有类型的学生都很感兴趣，并且可以在整个计算机科学入门课程中应用到广泛的主题。铅笔式谜题是人类通过演绎过程在纸上解决的谜题。就其本质而言，这些谜题旨在吸引广泛的受众，并易于理解--最广为人知的是数独，但也有太多其他不太知名但同样引人入胜的铅笔谜。因为它们被设计成演绎地求解，所以它们吸引求解者并诱导他们以算法思考。这个项目研究如何使用铅笔谜题来激发计算机科学一年级学生的兴趣，并引导他们理解具体的计算内容。

This project investigates the use of pencil puzzles as a rich and varied source of problems that are interesting to all types of students and can be applied to a wide range of topics throughout the introductory computer science curriculum. Pencil puzzles are puzzles that have been created to be solved on paper by humans through a deductive process. By their very nature, these puzzles have been created to appeal to a wide audience and to be easily understood - the most well-know is Sudoku but there are a plethora of other, less well-known but equally engaging, pencil puzzles. Since they are designed to be solved deductively, they draw solvers in and induce them to think algorithmically. This project studies the use of pencil puzzles to excite freshman computer science students and lead them to an understanding of specific computing content.