Pedagogical science/2. Problems of
training of specialists
Nastashchuk N. A.
Omsk State Transport University, Russia
THE TECHNOLOGY «CLUSTERY» IN RAILWAY
ENGINEERS’ TEACHING OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING
At present progress of automation of
management of vehicular process on railway in a large measure depends on success
in developmant of tools of information technologies (IT). Therefore, students
of railway universities have not only to be able to use IT, but have an idea
about base its computer-aided projecting.
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is the
most popular one in creation of applications, and also for automation of
solving railway engineer tasks. An application package Microsoft Office, and especially an electronic spreadsheet Excel, is the most widely-distributed
among developers
of IT. A programming system Visual Basic for
Application (VBA) allows to automate an operation
with the electronic spreadsheet Excel and, ipso facto, improves effectiveness
of IT, developed in this programming system. Main principles of OOP are
realized in VBA, which is a logical development
of an object-oriented programming system Visual Basic.
In this connection, a
main indication in a process of teaching informatics and following railway
engineers’ training is a skill to describe algorithm and develop programms of
its realization for automated solving computational tasks on one of OOP
languages. Speaking about OOP, it is necessary to say that it is characterized by
such fundamental concepts as «class» and «object (an example of a class)», each
of these ones is characterized by a defined set of properties, methods and events.
Thereby, it is formed a complex of class hierarchy, displaying interrelation of
objects, its properties, methods and events. So, students have some troubles in
the process of learning bases of OOP, projecting of a plain visual application
and writhing a programming code.
In this article it is suggested to use along with other
methods of teaching a technology “clustery” for more effective teaching bases of OOP, for example, a programming language VBA. This technology refers to innovation education
technologies and
active education methods, that corresponds requirements
of standards of the third generation under realization of a competent approach.
Some words about the point
of the technology “clustery”. Cluster is a graphic organization of teaching
material, displaying semantic fields of this concept or that one. A cluster making
allows a student to think about a theme freely and openly. He writes in the centre
of a paper a key concept, then from this one draws a ray arrow in different
sides, which connected this word with another one, and by-turn from them ray
arrows diverge further and further. The ray arrow means an existing logical connection
between concepts or terms. Some words of a cluster also may be connected with
each other with lines, illustrating the presence of logical connections between
them [1].
The technology “clustery” was created in USA. American educators consider that before you learn
something you have to build at first your own model based on known conception, after
that in the course of the acquisition of new data you have to improve again
this model.
The technology “clustery”
may be used both in lectures and in labs in the process of railway engineers’
teaching OOP.
On
a lecture by means of the technology “clustery” a lecturer can demonstrate to
students a set of objects, belonging to a class, in a form of hierarchy, and on
the following levels of this hierarchy he can display properties, methods and
events of these objects. In the event that if objects of one class have
identical properties, methods and events, or there is a possibility to use them
in a combination with each other it will be possible to display this logical
connection between them with drawing lines.
On labs a student should
use the technology “clustery” for a visual constructing a system-information
model of a projected visual form of an application with controls, that is objects.
It is distinguished a simple object and a container object (used for storing
and providing an access to other objects). Then on a scheme image of this cluster
it is followed to display properties, methods and events, which will be used in
the process of the application projecting and writing a program code. An interaction
of objects on the application form can be displayed with drawn lines. Also the using
of the properties and methods both in an event of one object and the event of
another one can be displayed with drawn lines.
Thereby, a student’s
lab report should contain a block diagram of a program algorithm and the
cluster, describing the structure and logic of functioning of a projected
application. On picture 1 it is presented a generalized model of the cluster, displaying
a constructing system-information model of the projected visual application
with controls.
Pic. 1.
A generic view of a cluster of a projected application form
In
conclusion, it is necessary to say that applying the technology “clustery” in railway
engineers’ teaching OOP allows to organize their knowledge in the field of OOP,
forms skills and abilities about bases of IT projecting by the example of
developing of visual applications with a programming language VBA for automated
solving computational tasks.
References:
1. Muhina S.A.,
Solovyova À.À. Untraditional educational technologies in teaching.
– M.: Phenix, 2004. – 384 p.