Teaching Algorithms by Tweaking Algorithms
Olga Lepsky, Michael W Werner · 2025
This paper describes an approach to teaching algorithms that requires students to do experimentation and think about ways to improve/apply the algorithms.They program and benchmark the algorithms on inputs of increasing size and compare the results to the predicted complexity curve.They then attempt variations (tweaks) on the algorithm to see if they can improve performance, or apply it to a different input.The approach was tested in two computer science courses: Algorithm Design and Analysis, and Bioinformatics Algorithms.