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More Than Literacy: Creating a Breadth-First Survey Course for the Future

More Than Literacy: Creating a Breadth-First Survey Course for the Future. Julia E. Benson Georgia Perimeter College. Today’s Talk. About GPC and its CS program Initial Course Development Details in conference proceedings Update What’s happening this fall. Georgia Perimeter College.

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More Than Literacy: Creating a Breadth-First Survey Course for the Future

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  1. More Than Literacy: Creating a Breadth-First Survey Course for the Future Julia E. Benson Georgia Perimeter College

  2. Today’s Talk • About GPC and its CS program • Initial Course Development • Details in conference proceedings • Update • What’s happening this fall

  3. Georgia Perimeter College • Two year school • Third-largest institution in the University System • Five locations in metropolitan Atlanta • Computer Science offered at three locations • Approximately 16,000 students

  4. Our Students • Large population of non-traditional students • International student population is largest in the state • 15% of total enrollment on F-1 visa • Many others are recent immigrants • Over 40% of students begin in Learning Support courses

  5. Why A Survey Course? • Semester conversion spurred a curriculum revision • Modernize and update curriculum • Move into line with ACM curriculum guidelines • Provide realistic view of discipline

  6. Why? (cont.) • Student population characteristics mean many students have little prior computer experience • A new approach was needed to meet our students’ needs…..

  7. The New CS Curriculum • ATEC 1201/1203 • Applied Technology (i.e. literacy) • Required of all students • Provide fundamental technology background • ATEC 1201 -- computing concepts • ATEC 1202 -- basic skills (word processing and Internet use)

  8. The New CS Curriculum (cont.) • CSCI 1401/1301/1302 • Required of CS majors • Assume a basic computing background • CSCI 1401 -- survey • CSCI 1301/1302 -- Principles of CS I/II

  9. CSCI 1401Introduction to Computer Science • “Provides an overview of selected major areas of current computing technology.” • Focuses on hands-on experience • Pulls together overview materials that were previously scattered throughout curriculum

  10. CSCI 1401 Major Topics • History/Vocabulary of Computers • Data Representation and Storage • Computer Hardware • Computer Software • Communications Technologies • Social/Ethical Issues • Algorithmic Design/Programming Concepts

  11. CSCI 1401 Pilot Courses • First pass -- Fall quarter 1997 • One section at Dunwoody campus • Second pass -- Spring quarter 1998 • One section at Dunwoody campus • One section at Clarkston campus • Sections were not coordinated

  12. Pilot Course Results • Student performance • Dunwoody campus: • 32% of students withdrew at/before midpoint • 81% of remaining students received a ‘C’ or better • Compares favorably with prior non-majors’ programming course

  13. Pilot Course Results (cont.) • Informal comments were largely favorable • Very few complaints to administration • Students continuing to other CS classes were very successful • Students have recommended course to others

  14. Update -- October 1998 • Current Status • Changes From Pilot Curriculum • What’s Working • What Isn’t Working • Too Soon To Tell • Future Plans

  15. Current Status • One completed section (half-semester) at Dunwoody campus • Sections in progress: • Two at Dunwoody campus • at Clarkston campus • at Lawrenceville campus

  16. Current Status (cont.) • Five instructors • Four full-time • One part-time • Enrollment (beginning of term) • 68 students at Dunwoody • students at Clarkston • students at Lawrenceville

  17. Current Status (cont.) • ATEC prerequisite was waived for 1998-99 • Enrollment concerns

  18. Changes From Pilot Courses • Course enrollment largely computer science majors • Pilot courses were predominantly non-majors • Basic curriculum remains very similar • Pilot curriculum assumed no computing background • Waiver of ATEC prerequisite continues assumption

  19. Changes (cont.) • In-class lab work counts towards grade • For Dunwoody sections, 10% • New assignments • Explore functions/iteration using a spreadsheet to compare loan payment plans • Book review: social or ethical issue • Programming language is Pascal rather than QBASIC

  20. What’s Working • Student interest is high • All sections offered were filled, even over-filled • Projects are very popular with students • Relevant to their lives • Interesting, use practical skills

  21. What’s Working (cont.) • Curriculum lines up well with standard credit-by-exam programs • CLEP -- very similar except that CLEP includes business/career issues • DANTES -- almost identical • Curriculum follows ACM guidelines for CS0

  22. What Isn’t Working • Half-semester course scheduling • Too rushed, several topics were shortchanged • Not enough time to complete all projects • Omitted group presentation and problem set • Only one programming assignment • Retention: • 23 students enrolled, 5 withdrew at/before midpoint • Only 10 passed with a ‘C’ or better

  23. What Isn’t Working (cont.) • Current textbook/lab manual • Chosen as best-available, but • Does not fit our curriculum • Contains much unneeded material • Missing important information • Students find book hard to use • Web-based auxiliary materials are not available • Lab exercises contain many errors

  24. It’s Too Soon to Tell • Will this better prepare our CS majors for later courses? • Will this improve student performance in later courses? • At least a year before we can draw conclusions

  25. Future Plans • Fix the textbook problem! • Find something appropriate, or • Write it ourselves • Trick is to find something with broad coverage that goes beyond elementary issues

  26. Future Plans (cont.) • Move into a transitional phase • Phase out material covered in ATEC • De-emphasize/refine coverage of basic hardware/software/architecture • Expand coverage of network technologies • Expand social/ethical issue coverage • Focus on algorithmic development

  27. Future Plans (cont.) • Continue wrestling with programming and the language issue • Pascal in this course vs. C++ in later courses • Does this help or confuse the student? • What about Java? • What about a completely different approach?

  28. Future Plans (cont.) • Most important, make sure the course stays current!

  29. Acknowledgements: • The GPC Computer Science faculty: • especially Ashraful Chowdhury • also Anant Honkan and Gene Shepherd • Sue Henderson, department chair • The GPC OIT staff, particularly • Trish Fields • John Cothran • Hunter Eidson

  30. For More Information: • This presentation • http://www.gpc.peachnet.edu/~jbenson/presentations/RockEagle98/ • CSCI 1401 Course Site • http://www.gpc.peachnet.edu/~jbenson/csci1401/csci1401.htm • Syllabus, assignments, course library, other resources

  31. Contact: • Julia E. BensonAssistant Professor of Computer ScienceGeorgia Perimeter Collegejbenson@gpc.peachnet.edu

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