An application oriented introductory computer science sequence

Today's computer science programs are in an excellent growth position. Many high school students and guidance counselors believe that the term “computer” implies high paying jobs in an exciting field. High schools are also beginning to introduce computing into their programs. The use of computing in these schools ranges from formal programming courses, to computer literacy courses, to the use of computers as a tool in such courses as math and physics. Because of this interest, the enrollments in computer science departments are increasing at a rapid rate. This new influx of students presents some interesting challenges to our departments. On one hand, our introductory courses must accommodate students who have been exposed to computing. The amount of exposure ranges from some simple lessons in how to write BASIC programs to three or four years of computing experience involving several programming languages. On the other hand, our introductory courses must accommodate those students who have no prior experience with computing. Many of these students have no concept of computer science as an academic discipline. They are in the program for such reasons as the current glamor of computing or the potential for a high paying job. Neither of these reasons are bad in themselves; however, they do pose an additional challenge for our introductory courses. We need to help these students understand what is meant by the term “computer science”. Very early in their education the students need to be exposed to the major areas of computer science. Our introductory sequences must therefore be capable of introducing computing to those students with no prior background and at the same time handle students with a wide range of previous computing experience.

At North Carolina State University, we are meeting the above described challenges with three major approaches:

An introductory sequence for students with no background in computing,

An introductory sequence for students with no background in computing,

Advanced placement activities.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the first approach.