CS2013-final-report

CSC 221: Introduction to Programming, Creighton University
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
David Reed
davereed@creighton.edu
http://dave-reed.com/csc221.F12
Knowledge Areas that contain topics and learning outcomes covered in the course
Knowledge Area
Software Development Fundamentals (SDF) 30
Programming Languages (PL) 5
Algorithms and Complexity (AL) 4
Social Issues and Professional Practice (SP) 1
Total Hours of Coverage
Where does the course fit in your curriculum
This is the first course in the introductory programming sequence. It is required for all computer science majors.
Many students will have already taken or will concurrently take CSC 121, Computers and Scientific Thinking,
which is a requirement of the computer science major (but not an explicit prerequisite for this course). CSC 121 is
a balanced CS0 course that provides some experience with programming (developing interactive Web pages using
JavaScript and HTML) while also exploring a breadth of computer science topics (e.g., computer organization,
history of computing, workings of Internet & Web, algorithms, digital representation, societal impact). This
course is offered every semester, with an enrollment of 20-25 students per course.
What is covered in the course
This course provides an introduction to problem solving and programming using the Python scripting language.
The specific goals of this course are:
• To develop problem solving and programming skills to enable the student to design solutions to nontrivial
problems and implement those solutions in Python.
• To master the fundamental programming constructs of Python, including variables, expressions,
functions, control structures, and lists.
• To build a foundation for more advanced programming techniques, including object-oriented design and
the use of standard data structures (as taught in CSC 222).
What is the format of the course
The course meets twice a week for two hours (although it only counts as three credit hours). The course is taught
in a computer lab and integrates lectures with lab time.
How are students assessed
Students complete 6-8 assignments, which involve the design and implementation of a Python program and may
also include a written component in which the behavior of the program is analyzed. There are "random" daily
quizzes to provide student feedback (quizzes are handed out but administered with a 50% likelihood each day).
There are two 75-minute tests and a cumulative 100-minute final exam.
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