In this paper, we propose a new approach to teach advanced data structures - priority queues to junior and senior Information Technology (IT) students by applying the project-based learning method, a student-centered method which aims to create a learning environment in which students work individually to complete an open-ended project. | JOURNAL OF SCIENCE OF HNUE FIT. 2013 Vol. 58 pp. 179-188 This paper is available online at http USING A PROJECT-BASED LEARNING METHOD IN EACH ADVANCED DATA STRUCTURES PRIORITY QUEUES Doan Thi Thu Huyen Faculty of Information Technology Hanoi National University of Education Email huyendtt88@ Abstract. In this paper we propose a new approach to teach advanced data structures - priority queues to junior and senior Information Technology IT students by applying the project-based learning method a student-centered method which aims to create a learning environment in which students work individually to complete an open-ended project. To estimate how effectively project-based method works in IT education and show how the method works in a specific IT project results are presented from a pedagogical experiment on group of 15 students studying IT at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Based on the results of this experiment the project proved that this new approach in teaching advanced data structures to IT students was effective. Keywords Project-based learning advanced data structures priority queues. 1. Introduction Project-based learning PBL method which consists of many ways to develop a curriculum allows for an active and constructive way to develop a central didactic principle that integrates several skills and competences through real work tasks and processes 1 . PBL is synonymous with learning in depth. A well-designed project provokes students to encounter central concepts and principles of a discipline. The use of projects in the university comprises several tasks that are usually perceived as separate units to do research and transfer projects to teach project management and dedicated subjects to educate students to carry out research and do practical work and to achieve relevant results within student s projects 1 4 3 . In computer science CS education and more specifically in the teaching of data structures and algorithms .
