An Innovative JavaScript-Based Framework for Teaching Backtracking Algorithms Interactively

Abstract

Algorithm fundamentals are useful to learn at different levels engineering education. One of the most difficult concepts to teach and understand is backtracking algorithms with proper bounding functions. This article proposes a framework to implement interactive online tools showing examples of backtracking algorithms in which students can graphically observe execution step-by-step. This approach is illustrated with the n-queens problem with students from Prince Sultan University, Saudi Arabia, and Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. The results show 6.67% increased learning on a backtracking exercise in the experimental group over the control group, in which the algorithms were automatically validated with DOMjudge software (an automated system used to run programming contests). The proposed framework was evaluated as easy to use, with a score of 74.5% in the validated System Usability Scale (SUS); easy to learn, with a score of 6.22 out of 7 in the validated Usefulness, Satisfaction, and Ease-of-Use (USE) scale; and with a general satisfaction of 5.97 out of 7 in the validated USE scale.