Pearson education support for U4 LA A Pattern recognition

1. Unit 4: Programming
Computational thinking
skills (2)
Unit 4: Programming
Pearson BTEC Nationals in IT

2. Unit 4: Programming
Pattern recognition
 What is it?
 A pattern is a set of
characteristics that help to
describe a ‘thing’.
 Recognition is seeing
recurring attributes within
the same problem and
between different problems.
 What is involved?
 Identifying the common
elements.
 Identifying and
interpreting the
differences.
 Describing patterns that
have been identified.
 Making predictions based
on identified patterns.
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3. Unit 4: Programming
Pattern generalisation and abstraction
 What is it?
 Abstraction is the
simplification of a more
complex process or feature.
 Generalisation is the process
of ignoring the confusing
detail.
 Why use it?
 Complex mechanisms are
ignored, allowing us to see
‘the wood for the trees’.
 Provides ‘thinking distance’
for the programmer.
 Less worry about how
something actually works …
 … helps to identify the
repeating patterns that
actually exist.
 Decide what to include and
what to ignore.
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4. Unit 4: Programming
Representing parts of a problem or system
 What is it?
 Identifying what is needed to
solve a problem or build a
system and how these pieces
fit together.
 Why is this important?
 You are starting to consider
how to solve the problem.
 What does this include?
 Variables – values that
change.
 Constants – values that
remain fixed.
 Key processes.
 Repeated processes.
 Inputs needed.
 Outputs required.
© Pearson Education Ltd 2016. Copying permitted for purchasing institution only.