Implementing CS Principles as a Breadth-First Survey Course (Abstract Only)

Abstract

With the recent launch of AP CS Principles in 2016-17, many efforts are currently underway to share curriculum resources and prepare new teachers. The community has primarily focused on high school implementations, which have different situational factors than university courses (e.g., amount of class time). In this poster, we present the design of a survey course that aligns with CS Principles and also continues the long tradition of breadth-first introductions to computer science at the college level. We describe the instructional strategies, assessments, and curriculum details, providing a model for how to modify existing CS0 courses. We also outline twelve lab activities that support the computational thinking practices and learning objectives of the AP curriculum framework. All instructional materials including activities, labs, performance tasks, and rubrics are freely available on the course website: https://w3.cs.jmu.edu/cs101. Quizzes, solutions, and other materials are also available to instructors upon request. The course has run successfully for the past four years at two universities and three high schools via dual enrollment. Initial results suggest that the curriculum has a positive impact on student confidence levels and attitudes toward computer science.