Formal Reasoning Using an Iterative Approach with an Integrated Web IDE

This paper summarizes our experience in communicating the elements of reasoning about correctness, and the central role of formal specifications in reasoning about modular, component-based software using a language and an integrated Web IDE designed for the purpose. Our experience in using such an IDE, supported by a 'push-button' verifying compiler in a classroom setting, reveals the highly iterative process learners use to arrive at suitably specified, automatically provable code. We explain how the IDE facilitates reasoning at each step of this process by providing human readable verification conditions (VCs) and feedback from an integrated prover that clearly indicates unprovable VCs to help identify obstacles to completing proofs. The paper discusses the IDE's usage in verified software development using several examples drawn from actual classroom lectures and student assignments to illustrate principles of design-by-contract and the iterative process of creating and subsequently refining assertions, such as loop invariants in object-based code.Comment: In Proceedings F-IDE 2015, arXiv:1508.0338

Lightweight Formal Verification in Classroom Instruction of Reasoning about Functional Code

In college courses dealing with material that requires mathematical rigor, the adoption of a machine-readable representation for formal arguments can be advantageous. Students can focus on a specific collection of constructs that are represented consistently. Examples and counterexamples can be evaluated. Assignments can be assembled and checked with the help of an automated formal reasoning system. However, usability and accessibility do not have a high priority and are not addressed sufficiently well in the design of many existing machine-readable representations and corresponding formal reasoning systems. In earlier work [Lap09], we attempt to address this broad problem by proposing several specific design criteria organized around the notion of a natural context: the sphere of awareness a working human user maintains of the relevant constructs, arguments, experiences, and background materials necessary to accomplish the task at hand. We report on our attempt to evaluate our proposed design criteria by deploying within the classroom a lightweight formal verification system designed according to these criteria. The lightweight formal verification system was used within the instruction of a common application of formal reasoning: proving by induction formal propositions about functional code. We present all of the formal reasoning examples and assignments considered during this deployment, most of which are drawn directly from an introductory text on functional programming. We demonstrate how the design of the system improves the effectiveness and understandability of the examples, and how it aids in the instruction of basic formal reasoning techniques. We make brief remarks about the practical and administrative implications of the system’s design from the perspectives of the student, the instructor, and the grader

The Improvement Of Ability To Write Poetry Through Mind Mapping Method Of The V B Grade Students Of SDN Dukuhan Kerten No. 58 Surakarta In The Academic Year 2009/2010

The purpose of this classroom action research is to improve the ability in writing poetry through mind mapping method of the V B grade students of SDN Dukuhan Kerten No. 58 Surakarta in the academic year 2009/2010. The variable that becomes the changing goal in this study is the ability in writing poetry, while its action variable is mind mapping method. The subject of this classroom action research are students of V grade of the class B SDN Dukuhan Kerten No. 58, in the academic year of 2009/2010 which consist of 34 students and the teacher of the V B grade students SDN Dukuhan Kerten No. 5 Surakarta. While the object is the students ability in writing poetry. The model of this research is classroom action research which using cycles model. This research consist of three cycles. Every cycle has four steps, i.e planning, action, observation, and reflection. The technique that used in collecting the data were observation, interview, test, and documentation. The validity of the data that used was content validity, triangulation data and triangulation method. The data analisis technique applied is interactive analysis model with the qualitative descriptive technique, involving, three components, they are data reduction, data presentation, and verification. Based on the research result, it can be concluded that there is an ability improvement to write poetry after implementing the classroom action research with mind mapping method. In the first cycle, there is an ability improvement in writing poetry with scenery theme in the amount of 65,5 as the average mark and the students percentage who reach the KKM is 61,7% (21 students). In the second cycle there is also an ability improvement to write poetry with disaster theme in the number 70,1 on the average mark, and the students percentage reaching the KKM is 73,5% (25 students). In the last one there is an ability improvement to write poetry with school theme by the average 74,5 and the reacing KKM percentage is 85,2% (29 students). Therefore it can be recommended that the use of mind mapping method can improve the ability in writing poetry for the V B grade students of SDN Dukuhan Kerten No. 58 Surakarta in the academic year 2009/2010

SPEECH ACTS USED BY ENGLISH TEACHERS IN EFL CLASSROOM

Classroom interaction during teaching and learning process is essential to perform effective learning to gain a successful teaching and learning process. It is important to find out the types of speech acts uttered by the teachers since their speech acts will contribute to their classroom practices in teaching. This study is aimed to investigate teachers‘ speech acts used for teaching English in EFL classroom and its implication in a classroom context. The subject of this study was English teachers of seventh-grade students in a Junior High School with adequate experiences of teaching EFL. The method of the study was descriptive qualitative by observing to collect data. Three cyclical steps were used to analyze the data: data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing or verification. The findings showed that there were four speech acts used by the teacher namely assertive, directives, expressives, and commissives. Directives speech acts became the most largely used ones because it is more comprehensiblein a classroom setting.Keywords: EFL classroom, English teachers, speech act

The Influence of First Language Toward Students' Achievement in Learning English

In an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, most of the time the teacher cannot avoid the use of mother tongue in teaching and learning activities. This happens in some countries whose English is not their native language, including Indonesia. This paper examines the influence of first language used by a teacher in an Indonesian EFL classroom. The teacher and six tenth graders from a science classroom were involved in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather in-depth data. The data were then analysed qualitatively based on the steps by Miles and Huberman (1984): data reduction, data display and data conclusion or verification. The findings indicate the teacher’s and the students’ perspectives on the use of first language in EFL classroom. Most of the students agreed the teacher includes the first language in their English classroom as it positively helps them in learning the target language. In addition, the teacher supports the students’ view because the inclusion of the first language in EFL classroom is considered a way to solve the students’ problem in learning the target languag

'Now you know what you’re doing right and wrong!' Peer feedback quality in synchronous peer assessment in secondary education

This study explores the effects of peer assessment (PA) practice on peer feedback (PF) quality of 11th grade secondary education students (N= 36). The PA setting was synchronous: anonymous assessors gave immediate PF using mobile response technology during 10 feedback occasions. The design was quasi-experimental (experimental vs. control condition) in which students in one condition received a scaffold to filter out relevant information they received. It was expected that this filter-out scaffold would influence PF quality in subsequent tasks in which they were assessors. PF content analysis showed that offering multiple PF occasions improved PF quality: messages contained more negative verifications and informative and suggestive elaborations after the intervention. However, no effects were found of filtering out relevant information on PF quality. Moreover, students’ perceived peer feedback skills improved which was in correspondence with their actual quality improvement over time. Additionally, the perceived usefulness of the received feedback was rated high by all participants