Module 1 · Lesson 3
Lesson 3 · Pattern recognition
Finding what repeats — and using it so a problem only has to be solved once.
Pattern recognition is what makes decomposition pay off. Once a problem is broken into parts, patterns reveal which parts are really the same problem wearing different clothes — and that is where efficiency comes from.
Learning objectives
- Identify patterns within a single problem and across related problems
- Distinguish a surface similarity from a structural pattern
- Explain how pattern recognition leads to reusable solutions — and to loops in code
- Connect pattern recognition to abstraction
Surface vs. structure
Students reliably match on surface features: two word problems both mention apples, so they must work the same way. The teaching task is moving them to structural matching — two problems that share an underlying relationship even when every surface detail differs. Present problems in contrasting contexts with identical structure to force the shift.