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 ...
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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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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 - ...
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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 ...
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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,...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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