Robert.Biddle@comp.vuw.ac.nz (Robert Biddle) (07/06/90)
We are currently looking at the design our first year Computer Science courses. In particular, we are hoping to improve the one semester course we teach as a general "service" course. People with no computing background but interested in majoring are also encouraged to take this course first. We seek advice and experience on our approach, and on resources (esp. texts). We introduce several popular application packages in this course, as well as covering most of the "general knowledge" topics that we feel everyone should know about computing. We are considering slightly changing the theme of the course to stress better "fundamentals" of computing, which we will illustrate using popular application packages. So we will still teach about word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, etc.; but while discussing each will be aiming to help understanding of problem solving, data structuring, and some notion of the importance of algorithm design. Our current thinking is that we will not teach detailed "programming" in this course, but lead right up to that point, emphasising the detail, complexity, and precision that must be mastered. And if that's for them, then they can take our other first course. (Many students with computing background will have already gone straight to the other course.) One of the aims of this re-design is to better cope with the variety - and the changes in variety - of student backgrounds. For instance, while there are substantial numbers who know nothing about computers, we are providing an introduction to how to use them; as computing background becomes more commonplace, so we can stress more the fundamentals of Computing Science. Because we expect the enrollment in this course to be large, and because several people will have to be involved in teaching, we really would like a text book that can assist in providing some unity and more detail than we will be able to cover in lectures. We would like a *really good* book that shares our goals of introducing both *fundamentals* as well as applications. We would welcome your advice on such a book. We have also heard of publishers constructing books (from sets of chapters) specifically tailored to such courses with large enrollment. We would welcome hearing about experience with that approach. Unless you wish to widen this discussion, please send me your advice and experience by e-mail; I will summarise responses for the group. Thanks very much! -------- Robert Biddle, Computer Science, Victoria University, Wellington Internet: Robert.Biddle@Comp.VUW.Ac.NZ NEW ZEALAND Telecom: Voice +64 4 721-000 ext. 8546; Facsimile: +64 4 712-070
pattis@cs.washington.edu (Richard Pattis) (07/06/90)
Two very interesting books came out this year (re: introductory CS courses whose main focus is not to learn a programming language in depth): Decker and Hirshfield, "The Analytical Engine: An Introduction to Computer Science using Hypercard", Wadsworth Publishing Co. Biermann, "Great Ideas in Computer Science: A Gentle Introduction", MIT Press. Rich Pattis