Project-Based Learning in Studying the Essence of Information by Students of IT-Area
Abstract
Information is a system-forming concept in the computer science area. However, at present, the educational programs in IT area lack a correct definition of this concept. Thus, a methodological contradiction is created in the training system between the required rigor and logical validity of the studied algorithms and technologies and the uncertainty of the fundamental initial concepts. The purpose of this development is to create a new approach for mastering the essence of information by students of IT area based on project-based teaching methods. The materials for the study are existing classical and modern approaches to understanding the term "information". The analysis of these approaches is used as a research method; the developed educational methodology is based on the project-based teaching method. Information is understood as a selected, generally fuzzy, subset, as well as the result of its display, leading to the selection of the corresponding subset in the set of images. An in-depth understanding of the essence of information and its practical significance is achieved through the implementation of a number of project-based applied research works. The topics of the works cover practical problems of numerical optimization, neural network training, classification and ranking problems. The work is carried out by small groups of students during one academic semester. Methodological support for their implementation has been created, including a justification of the purpose, a plan and schedule for its implementation, recommended educational and methodological literature, monitoring and evaluation tools. The developed approach has been implemented in the educational process of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod for bachelors in the studying area "Fundamental Informatics and Information Technology". Analysis of the implementation experience shows a deepening of students' understanding of abstract concepts of information theory and an increase in motivation to study them.
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