Questions tagged [curriculum-design]

The curriculum of a Computer Science course is a sequence of planned subjects that the students will be taught in the course. This tag should be used for questions asking for guidance on designing parts of that sequence, the entire sequence or questions related to the preferred order in which to teach subjects. Question relating to a single lesson should NOT receive this tag.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
1 vote
1 answer
66 views

Big Data Analytics for Policy Making with No Math inside

Good afternoon, colleagues! We are now preparing to launch a new training program, which will be designed for government managers and policy makers whose competencies will include managing big data. ...
paus's user avatar
  • 233
2 votes
2 answers
133 views

First Time teaching 6th & 7th grade computer science

I will be teaching 2 AP CS courses, along with 6th and 7th grade intro to computer science. I'm debating on whether teaching JavaScript (using CodeHS) to 7th graders would be an appropriate ...
user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
412 views

What sort of programming assignments do you give in an FP course?

I teach programming to a science/engineering students. Here is a typical sequence of assignments for a beginning programming class: Arithmetic and conditionals: does ...
Victor Eijkhout's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
292 views

Teaching with changing dependencies

I'm a mathematics professor tasked with teaching a computer graphics course in the spring. I decided to teach something very project-based using Javascript and THREE.js, based on my familiarity and ...
TomKern's user avatar
  • 171
34 votes
7 answers
9k views

What controversies in computer science education exist today?

I remember 20 years ago (when I was doing my degree in computer science) that there were a lot of instructors who thought that the impending ("real soon now") transition from using C++ as ...
Robert Columbia's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
78 views

Object patterns student presentation format

I am teaching a course in object design patterns for the first time, and it is not a topic I am extremely well versed in. My students are well aware of this, and signed up for the course fully ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
  • 32.9k
4 votes
1 answer
250 views

Computer Graphics Textbook Recommendations

I'm a math professor who will be teaching an undergraduate course in computer graphics next semester, and am looking for some resources to help me structure my course, specifically a textbook, ...
TomKern's user avatar
  • 171
2 votes
3 answers
148 views

Do any Computer Engineering programs have a required digital logic course that comes before the first course in programming

I read with interest the thread Why Computer Science students learn Digital Logic Design?, where Dr. Buffy and others argue for a programming abstraction stack that has logic at its bottom. Is anyone ...
Brian's user avatar
  • 21
7 votes
5 answers
1k views

How to advise change in a curriculum as a new teacher

Due to the Corona crisis I was forced in to a temporary career switch. Currently I am working as a sort of "supervisor" for students in a controlled environment where they do projects ...
A.bakker's user avatar
  • 336
4 votes
4 answers
737 views

Some real practical example to teach object-oriented concepts and programming (in python)

I have taught my high school students to write some simple python scripts, taking some ideas from "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python", e.g. changing file names in a folder to a specific ...
Qiulang 邱朗's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
101 views

relationship between ACM curriculum guidelines from 2013 and computing curricula 2020

I have been working with the ACM Curriculum Guidelines for proposing courses and topics related to CS in the Faculty that I am currently working on. The core document that we have been using was the ...
Lila's user avatar
  • 261
4 votes
7 answers
327 views

Any good resource for introducing kids to programming using Python's Turtle Graphics?

I would like to start volunteering with kids and young teengers in my community by introducing them to programming. I thought teaching them the basics of python would be a good start. I have some ...
Kam Eissawy's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
268 views

Computer Science in the Waldorf curriculum

How should computer science, software engineering or ICT be integrated into the Waldorf curriculum? Steiner-Waldorf education derives from the anthroposophical philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, and ...
J Kaye's user avatar
  • 79
1 vote
1 answer
51 views

How can I teach the students a package/module in a computer lab?

I will be teaching a course to college students in their 3rd year in college study. So far, they have taken only one programming course in MATLAB. We have a package, i.e., is a set of functions, ...
Mahshrp's user avatar
  • 11
8 votes
2 answers
903 views

Order of learning formal languages, automata, compilers and parsing

What is the most traditional or meaningful order for learning formal languages, automata, compilers and parsing, if there's one at all? Would students benefit from a parallel course in formal ...
Quora Feans's user avatar
1 vote
5 answers
200 views

Learning to program a Cell Phone

Somebody wants to develop applications for his cell phone in Java. He does not know programming and he does not know Java. Should he start learning Java on his cell phone or would he better off ...
Bob's user avatar
  • 121
4 votes
1 answer
129 views

Creating Interactive Gnu/Linux shell programming courses

I am looking to create interactive workbooks that teach the Gnu/Linux terminal to students. This would be presented in such a way that one half of the screen is an interactive terminal, running the ...
KeyDifficulty1's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
160 views

Shallow, broad and general introduction to programming

I've planned a shallow and broad curriculum for a summer program (5 days a week for 2 weeks, 9:00 to 17:00) or sorts, and the flow of the subjects seems flawed. The students are gifted (not a ...
ItamarG3's user avatar
  • 6,287
3 votes
2 answers
171 views

What do A-level students, that have not done GCSE, struggle with?

I will be teaching key-stage-3 pupils, in a school with no key-stage 4 or 5 in the computing subjects. Some of these pupils may wish to do computing at key-stage-5 at another school. Does anyone ...
ctrl-alt-delor's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
30 views

How to make sequence diagram? [closed]

I want to make the sequence diagram of my project.. what should i do to make it easily? Anybody know any Site then give me the link. Thanks for any help.
Ahsan Khan's user avatar
13 votes
12 answers
12k views

On studying Computer Science vs. Software Engineering to become a proficient coder

I’m mostly interested in the coding aspect of the CS and SE majors curricula. And I’m trying to decide between the two. Each major has its pros and cons, and they prepare you in very different ways ...
kanayt's user avatar
  • 241
2 votes
2 answers
43 views

Hand-on ideas on tutorial on setting up a cloud-based server

A long shot, but perhaps somebody here can help. I'm planning a workshop (=3 hours, mixed presentation bits + "hands-on" parts, ~30 people). It includes a (brief) section on setting up a simple ...
elisa's user avatar
  • 123
2 votes
4 answers
209 views

Thoughts on language for Intro to Data Science?

Next term, I'm going to teach an introductory Data Science class for the first time. In the past, others have taught it in either R or Python. My first inclination was to teach it in R because the ...
Kevin Buffardi's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
134 views

Teaching Revision (Change) Control Systems In High School CS Classes

I teach AP Computer Science A and game design classes at the high school level in Washington state (where "revision control systems" are a grade level expectation (GLE) for 11th and 12th grade - all ...
dlu's user avatar
  • 499
3 votes
2 answers
643 views

About the ACM and IEEE-CS Computing Curricula

I've been searching for a detailed definition about what computer science is about for years, when one day I came across these two documents: Computing curricula 2005 report and Computer Science ...
Nehil's user avatar
  • 31
53 votes
11 answers
31k views

How bad is a Computer Science course that doesn't teach Design Patterns?

I'm at final year of my graduation in Computer Science in Brazil. The university that I study is one of the best in the country and my passion is for Software Engineering. It disappoints me, in ...
olegario's user avatar
  • 643
6 votes
1 answer
180 views

How can I set up and deliver a Computer Hardware Course for the first time?

I'm in need of major help at my current job. I'm a HS teacher and I teach a private school - I just started in August, two days before school started and five days before the previous teacher left for ...
Jonathan Ma's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

What belongs in a low-math undergraduate AI elective besides ML?

The primarily undergraduate institution at which I teach does not have an Artificial Intelligence course. We do have classes on Data Analysis and Machine Learning: DATA 150: Introduction to Data ...
Ellen Spertus's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
490 views

How Can I Apply Spaced Repetition To Teaching CS?

Lately I've been seeing quite a bit on the importance of spaced repetition in retention of skills. My job is to level up a group of C# developers and I'm trying to figure out how to apply the idea of ...
Onorio Catenacci's user avatar
12 votes
6 answers
2k views

Why isn't Functional Programming Taught First?

We've recently gone through the process of selecting an intern from a local university to join our team for the summer. We are using F# and almost exclusively using functional programming techniques ...
Aaron M. Eshbach's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
130 views

Constructing a curriculum from multiple resources for complex subjects

I was recently asked to teach someone OOP and C++, to a relatively advanced level in the former and an intermediate level in the latter. After one half of a private lesson, it became clear that the ...
ItamarG3's user avatar
  • 6,287
3 votes
2 answers
102 views

Should we merge technology departments with the science departments?

At our high school, our tech department has made many strides in the past decade. The courses and technology we offer are a matter of pride when showcasing our school. However, our department is small ...
Jairus Houdek's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
148 views

Process Scheduling is not "Process" Scheduling - Should I disclose it to students?

I have been teaching Operating Systems basics in a class and after Processes, Child Processes and Threads, we have managed to move to "Process Scheduling" Now, ironically, as we know that it is not ...
Failed Scientist's user avatar
53 votes
12 answers
8k views

What are healthy, productive ways to encourage students to progress to more advanced constructs as opposed to staying with the familiar?

In my experience, there are always students who are resistant to moving to more advanced constructs. They want to stay with what they already know. For example, when they are taught arrays, they ...
Java Jive's user avatar
  • 2,349
8 votes
12 answers
789 views

For a beginner, is it better to start with C or a higher level language?

Some friends of mine, over the years, asked me suggestions on what to study for learning how to code. Most of them had no real final purpose, just wanted to be able to understand programming and be ...
Nisba's user avatar
  • 189
18 votes
6 answers
7k views

How do you teach Big O to high schoolers with varying degrees of math exposure?

My second semester programming curriculum includes a searching and sorting unit and mentions Big O notation, giving the notation for each search and sort we implement. It does not show the ...
Java Jive's user avatar
  • 2,349
6 votes
6 answers
293 views

Should I Provide Answers To Exercises?

I'm preparing some exercises to introduce software developers who have no experience with Scheme to the language. Part of the exercises are simple things like: ...
Onorio Catenacci's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
201 views

The Starting Gun vs Freedom of Choice [closed]

According to research, if people are to develop abstract reasoning capabilities (Formal Operations and Post-Formal) they need the proper exposure at age 7 to 12 - generally speaking. Adults that were ...
user4622's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
291 views

Is there evidence of differences in the outcomes of objects-early vs objects-late?

Here is the essential parts of a (HS) Junior level question from one of our (Canadian) national computing challenges. (http://www.cemc.uwaterloo.ca/contests/computing/2017/stage%201/juniorEF.pdf) ...
Mr Bradley's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
338 views

Teaching C++ to students that know Java

I am now teaching an OOP course to 2nd year undergrads. This is actually a course in advanced programming in Java. In the next semester, I am going to teach the same students, a C++ course. From what ...
Erel Segal-Halevi's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
200 views

Where, sequentially, do Interfaces sit in an introduction to Objects?

I've been teaching Objects for years now as part of AP Computer Science A (which means that I am teaching OOP in Java), and I have experimented with putting Interfaces in at different locations. In ...
Ben I.'s user avatar
  • 32.9k
13 votes
12 answers
4k views

What should be included in a best practices C course?

At our University, we have in the first semester a very difficult C Introductory Course, that consists of presenting a shortened version of the language specification: What are for/while loops, if ...
Git's user avatar
  • 153
8 votes
3 answers
390 views

Agile / SCRUM Course Structure: Downsides? Resources?

I am planning to teach an undergraduate-level course on mobile application development. I have been thinking about the best way to structure such a course, and am starting to believe that an agile ...
Peter K.'s user avatar
  • 191
2 votes
3 answers
226 views

Teaching Critical Thinking

In answers to a previous question, a few people suggested intro programming with true novices might not be the best place to introduce critical thinking/planning skills for programs. To me, intro ...
cryptic_star's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
250 views

Is there independent evidence that physical computing improves engagement

The micro:bit foundation present some research findings which look quite encouraging when it comes to using physical computing as an introduction to Computer Science here: 90% of students said ...
Sean Houlihane's user avatar
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
  • 272
8 votes
2 answers
434 views

Teaching information security to students without basic IT knowledge

Context I've been mandated by the university of Tokyo to teach Information security courses during my working hours (initiation level). We are 3 teachers, 2 security researchers employed by the ...
Baptiste's user avatar
  • 183
5 votes
5 answers
285 views

Show students the consequences of their design decisions

In my experience, university students spend years writing throw away code. They develop assignments, get them auto-marked, then move on. On the other hand, professional developers are plagued by the ...
user avatar
25 votes
11 answers
7k views

What could be the possible advantages of teaching Scheme as first programming language?

When I started my Computer Science studies, Scheme was the first thing we learned in our first programming course. Almost 8 years later, I ask a friend of mine, and it seems that they are still ...
Kenny Barrera's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
435 views

Teaching C#, Java, etc. to students who are bad at OOP

Last semester, I was assigned two classes of C# and assuming them to be well-versed in Programming Fundamentals (PF) and Object Oriented Programming (OOP), I started the course at normal pace. After a ...
Failed Scientist's user avatar