CS2013-final-report

What is the format of the course
The course is offered both face-to-face and online. In the face-to-face version, there are 40 classroom hours and at
least 20 optional lab hours. This is a quarter course and typically meets twice a week for two hours over 10 weeks,
with 2 optional lab hours each week.
All classrooms are equipped with a computer at each desk and the classroom time consists of both lecture and
activities on the computers. The lab time is unstructured; students typically work on assignments and ask questions
related to assignments or readings.
The online version of the course has pre-recorded videos guiding the students through the basic concepts and some
of the more difficult content. There are also in-house written materials that supplement the textbook. Discussion
boards provide a forum for questions and class discussions. Assignments and assessment are the same as in the
face-to-face course.
How are students assessed
Assessment varies by instructor, but in all cases the majority of the final grade comes from programming projects
(e.g., 70%), and a smaller portion (e.g., 30%) from exams.
There are seven programming projects. In six of the projects, students add functionality to existing code, ranging
from adding a single one-line method in the first assignment to adding significant functionality to skeleton code in
the last assignment. In one project students write all code from scratch.
Students are expected to spend approximately two hours outside of class studying and working on assignments for
each one hour they spend in class.
The midterm and final exams consist of multiple choice and true-false questions, possibly with a portion where
students write a small program.
Course textbooks and materials
The textbook is Objects First with BlueJ, and the BlueJ environment is used throughout the course.
Why do you teach the course this way
This course was previously taught with a more procedural-oriented approach and using a full-fledged IDE. The
switch was made to BlueJ and a true objects-first approach in order to concentrate more on the concepts and less
on syntactical and practical details needed to get a program running. In addition, there is an emphasis on good
program design.
The background and skill level of students in the course varies greatly, and some find it very challenging while
others have no trouble with the course.
Body of Knowledge coverage
KA Knowledge Unit Topics Covered Hours
AL
Fundamental Data
Structures and
Algorithms
Simple numerical algorithms and sequential search are covered 3
PL
Object-Oriented
Programming
Core-tier1 and core-tier2 topics are covered including classes, objects
with state and behavior, encapsulation, visibility, collection classes. The
topics relating to inheritance, subtyping, and class hierarchies are not
covered in this course but are covered in the next course in the sequence.
8
- 389 -