jbd@duke.cs.duke.edu (Joanne Bechta Dugan) (05/26/87)
I'll be teaching an introductory course to the first-year undergrads this fall, and would appreciate some advice. I've taught upper-level undergrads and first-year grad students before - I've never taught first-year undergrads. Are there any special suggestions (warnings?) you'd like to pass along? Duke has recently re-vamped the undergrad CS curriculum, and awards both the BA and BS degrees. The new curriculum starts this fall. The BA degree is mostly intended for people who want the be "computer literate," (business/management students) but who are not really computer SCIENCE students.The BS degree is for the more analytically oriented, those who would make good system programmers and/or graduate students. (No flames please - I've tried not to inject any value judgements, but I probably have not succeeded) Anyway, the course that I'll be teaching is a new course that is intended for those who will be working toward the BS degree (many will be dual majoring in EE, I expect). I haven't chosen a book yet, so suggestions here are welcome too. I'll probably use Pascal for the sake of uniformity (Pascal is used in the other intro course, intended for BA students). Thanks in advance, Joanne ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Joanne Bechta Dugan CSNET: jbd@duke Computer Science Department ARPA: jbd@cs.duke.edu Duke University UUCP: {ihnp4|decvax|mcnc}!duke!jbd Durham, NC 27706, USA Phone: (919) 684-3048
pattis@uw-june.UUCP (Richard Pattis) (05/26/87)
Regardless of which Pascal book you use, write and get a free copy of Doug Cooper's, "Teaching Introductory Programming" published by W.W. Norton. It has all sorts of good general advice about running this type of course. I tend to violently disagree with about half of what Doug says; but I tend to violently agree with the other half. In any case, this book is a good place to at least be presented with the issues, and see how one instructor solves them. Rich Pattis