Teaching functional patterns through robotic applications

Boender, Jaap, Currie, Edward ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1186-5547, Loomes, Martin J., Primiero, Giuseppe and Raimondi, Franco ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9508-7713 (2016) Teaching functional patterns through robotic applications. Proceedings 4th and 5th International Workshop on Trends in Functional Programming in Education (TFPIE 2015/6) (Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science, Vol 230). In: The 4th International Workshop on Trends in Functional Programming in Education, TFPIE 2015, 02 Jun 2015, Sophia-Antipolis, France. . ISSN 2075-2180 [Conference or Workshop Item] (doi:10.4204/EPTCS.230.2)

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.4204/eptcs.230.2

Abstract

We present our approach to teaching functional programming to First Year Computer Science stu- dents at Middlesex University through projects in robotics. A holistic approach is taken to the cur- riculum, emphasising the connections between different subject areas. A key part of the students’ learning is through practical projects that draw upon and integrate the taught material. To support these, we developed the Middlesex Robotic plaTfOrm (MIRTO), an open-source platform built using Raspberry Pi, Arduino, HUB-ee wheels and running Racket (a LISP dialect). In this paper we present the motivations for our choices and explain how a number of concepts of functional programming may be employed when programming robotic applications. We present some students’ work with robotics projects: we consider the use of robotics projects to have been a success, both for their value in reinforcing students’ understanding of programming concepts and for their value in motivating the students.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Research Areas:	A. > School of Science and Technology > Computer Science
Item ID:	25555
Useful Links:	Publisher Middlesex University Expert Profile Middlesex University Expert Profile
Depositing User:	Ed Currie
Date Deposited:	07 Nov 2018 15:53
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2022 21:27
URI:	https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/id/eprint/25555

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