Questions tagged [ap-computer-science-a]

Questions related to the course AP Computer Science A taught with the Java programming language.

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APCSA 2015 Q3, grading criteria

If a question (eg free response 2015 #3) has the following criteria: +1 Accesses all necessary elements of entries (No bounds errors) +1 Returns identified value or returns 0 if no entry exists in ...
ThisClark's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
2k views

Object Oriented Software Engineering Project

I am looking for a software engineering project idea (based on Object Oriented Programming) which does not include financial/accounting module, yet provides reasonable challenges in terms of research ...
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5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why does AP Computer Science A use Java?

What are the reasons that AP Computer Science A is using Java as its programming language? While Java is a great language in general, it has high verbosity, which is quite important for a timed exam. ...
Marwi's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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AP Computer Science A vs. OCP

Out of my own interest, I have been self-learning Java over the past few months. I decided I should take this to a greater advantage, so I have been considering taking the OCP (Oracle Certified ...
Marwi's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
153 views

Interfaces and Greenfoot

My colleague and I are considering bringing Greenfoot into our AP classes this year, and while Interfaces have been removed from the AP subset, we will continue to teach them. Greenfoot itself seems ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
2k views

How does IB Computer Science compare with AP Computer Science?

I've taught AP Computer Science A for over a decade now, and an administrator has asked me to look into transitioning to IB. (We already have some programs in the school that use IB, so we would ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
28 views

Hardware (cameras, headsets) for TEALS supported classrooms

We have TEALS (a NGO which supports CS education in US with programs that team industry professionals with CS classrooms - both in person and remotely) distance learning support for our CS classes - ...
dlu's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
374 views

Curriculum choice for AP Computer Science A

We are currently researching what curriculum to use/adapt for the 2019-2020 school year. It will be our first year offering AP CSA. The students taking the class will have had 3-7 years of computers ...
Allison's user avatar
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6 votes
5 answers
891 views

What is a good teaching example/application for jagged arrays (2d arrays with irregular row lengths)?

We are teaching an AP CS class and the topic of 2d-arrays is coming up. There are plenty of cool and approachable sample applications for standard rectanglular arrays - matrix math, MIDI music, sudoku,...
Matthew W.'s user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
82 views

Advise on a class project

Me and my friend are both in high school taking a “PLTW” Engineering class, where our goal is to design a solution to any problem and work on that solution over the course of the year. We’re reaching ...
Derrick Lwanjo's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
195 views

Criteria for admission to AP CS courses in high school

The question is simple and direct here: what objective criteria are helpful* in admitting students to AP CS courses? (By "helpful," I mean criteria that have some worth as indicator of future success ...
Peter's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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Lab Requirement in AP CS A

The official course description for AP Computer Science A, a high-school level course focusing on OOP using Java, details a 20-hour lab requirement. College Board provides three labs ready-made for ...
Peter's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
126 views

Use of jshell in AP CS A

I recently installed jshell in my IDE for use in demoing concepts in AP CS A. It came at just the right time as it was a powerful way to teach ArrayLists and its ...
Peter's user avatar
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6 votes
4 answers
503 views

Using Oracle's Java Documentation as a Teaching Tool

I'm in the process of preparing for the second semester of AP CS A (Java). I want to review objects and classes with my students to prepare for our extended focus this semester on inheritance and ...
Peter's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
256 views

What does a certification program for CS high school teachers need to include?

If a high school math or science teacher was going to begin teaching computer science, what do they need to know? I know of many teachers given this responsibility without any training for it. Since ...
Thorn's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
675 views

Framework choice for AP CS A students: Swing or JavaFX?

I attended an AP workshop this week to prepare for teaching AP CS A this coming school year. It gave me my first glimpse of Swing, which has now piqued my interest about including some GUI components ...
Peter's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
141 views

Integrating Graph Theory into AP CS A

During our year-end exit interviews with our outgoing seniors, the students made an explicit request to include some graph theory within our curriculum. This seems like an excellent idea, but the ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
310 views

Homework Policy for Advanced/Honors Students

Perusing Twitter just now, I saw this tweet from the @CSTeachingTips account, and it got me thinking about the general topic of homework as it applies to our discipline: Downsize homework because, ...
Peter's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
441 views

Most beneficial CodingBat problems for AP CS A FRQs

I love the CodingBat platform and plan to integrate it throughout my course next year. Yet, since it will be my first year with AP CS A and I have not yet had a chance to study past years' FRQs, I'm ...
Peter's user avatar
  • 9,082
7 votes
2 answers
242 views

Final exam advice

I probably should have asked this last week since we just finished up finals today. But, there's always next year :) How do you create a final exam that is a valid assessment of an entire year or ...
Ryan Nutt's user avatar
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11 votes
7 answers
369 views

How to illustrate scope problem when creating variables inside `if` statements in Java

One of the problems that my students will stumble upon every year is trying to create or initialize variables within an if/else ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
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8 votes
3 answers
240 views

Workflow for Code Submission

Next year will be my first year teaching AP CS A. While I've spent a lot of time preparing by choosing textbooks, picking an IDE, and writing the syllabus, I'm not yet settled on my workflow for how ...
Peter's user avatar
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8 votes
3 answers
820 views

Command-line Java in AP CS A

Context: Over the past school year I spent a significant portion of my time preparing to teach AP CS A next year. From choosing textbooks to writing the College Board syllabus, I essentially started ...
Peter's user avatar
  • 9,082
7 votes
1 answer
279 views

Designing rubrics for AP Computer Science-style free response questions

When I create questions in the style of the College Board's AP Computer Science Free Response Questions, I always attempt to create authentic rubrics that reflect how such questions would be graded. ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
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9 votes
11 answers
672 views

Objects Lab Before Inheritance and Polymorphism

I am finding it very difficult to create a lab for Objects in Java before we've involved Inheritance and Polymorphism. The problem, as I see it, is that Inheritance and Polymorphism are basically the ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
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