In this lab, students dissect a working implementation of the Tic-Tac-Toe game using process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL). Learning objectives include functional decomposition, using multidimensional arrays, and team management. This lab allows students to read an existing program rather than creating one from scratch.
Teams of 3-4 students work well in this lab. Students should be assigned roles such as manager, recorder, presenter, and analyst. Prior exposure to basic control structures and variables is recommended. (I use this as a review activity for students transitioning from CS1 in C to CS2 in Java.)
Additional recommendations include:
- To quickly examine this activity, see the PDF posted below. This is the instruction sheet that the students will work through.
- To look more deeply or modify the assignment for your own use, get the latest version of the PDF, Java code, and any other files here: https://github.com/PeterDrake/ljing2-skeletons/tree/master/Tic-Tac-Toe
- To quickly install and run this activity, as well as all of the other Learn Java in N Games activities, follow the instructions here: http://ljing.org/.
- See pogil.org and cspogil.org for more information on running POGIL activities.
This lab employs relevant and meaningful content by using a common pencil-and-paper game called “Tic-Tac-Toe”. The game-based nature of this lab is appealing and welcoming to many students. Additionally, this POGIL lab demonstrates an example of a well-structured collaborative learning experience and has significant benefits for engagement and inclusion.