[CS] Jonathan Liu Candidacy Exam/Nov 10, 2025

[via cs]

This is an announcement of Jonathan Liu's Candidacy Exam.
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Candidate: Jonathan Liu

Date: Monday, November 10, 2025

Time:  3:30 pm CST

Remote Location: https://uchicago.zoom.us/j/92208680529?pwd=bOE3dbjNJGwYDrwbQbeOXXliUGOzPr.1

Location: JCL 298

Title: Investigating Metacognitive Problem-Solving Strategies in Algorithm Design Problems

Abstract: Algorithms is a core course in the undergraduate computer science curriculum and is known both for its relative difficulty and its career implications. A key learning goal in the course is algorithm design, but the problem-solving skills related to the task of algorithm design are nebulous and typically left implicit in algorithms courses and materials. Prior results hint at the possibility that students are learning the content material itself but not the metacognitive problem-solving skills necessary to apply what they've learned to new problems, but much is left unstudied.

In this talk, we present a series of work aimed at answering foundational questions about problem-solving skills in algorithms courses. In our first work, we characterize students' natural strategy development in algorithms courses, finding that students are learning important metacognitive strategies on their own but the adoption is inconsistent and improper use of the strategies often hinders student progress. Next, we discuss our work investigating analogical reasoning, one of the strategies identified in the prior work, and present evidence that analogical reasoning is very closely tied to success in algorithm design. These findings justify the importance of explicit modeling and instruction about metacognitive strategies in algorithms classrooms. Finally, we present an outline and proposal for our current work comparing different strategies for integrating this instruction into algorithms classrooms.


Advisor: Diana Franklin

Committee: Lorenzo Orecchia, Craig Zilles, Seth Poulsen, Diana Franklin