Using game-based learning in teaching CS algorithms

Artificial Intelligence curriculum comprises some difficult concepts for a student to grasp and traditional teaching methods are proven to be ineffective and unable to motivate them. A basic AI concept is Constraint Satisfaction (CS), which is acknowledged by most tutors to be a hard domain for teachers to teach and student to understand. To solve a CS problem (CSP), a CS algorithm should be used. In this paper we present a game based approach, to be used as an assistant tool in an AI course, to assist students in understanding CS algorithms in an easy, interactive and motivating way. The game is based on a classical CSP, the map-coloring problem. Preliminary evaluation results are quite encouraging.