SCIE 306/308

Directed Individual Study: 2013 Trimester 3

CS Education:Designing a first Computer Science course

This document sets out the assessment requirements for SCIE 306/8, Directed Individual Study, for Hamish Rae-Hodgson, 2013, Tri 3.

The topic of the course will be the design of the first (programming based) course in a university computer science programme. It will look at the Computer Science Education research literature to discover the variety of approaches, the issues and the problems in teaching a first course in computer science. It will then focus on the different approaches to teaching a first CS course for students who have already learned basic programming skills in high school. Finally, it will apply the ideas and principles from this literature survey to designing an assignment for the new course COMP112 that will be taught at VUW for the first time in 2014.

Supervisor

Dr Peter Andreae.

When not on holiday, the supervisor will be available for at least one meeting in person per week, and will also be available by email.

Assessment.

The grade for SCIE 305 will be based on three assessment items:

• Report 1 (25%): A literature survey of approaches, issues, and problems in teaching a first university level course in Computer Science.
  • Expected length: around 3000-4000 words.
  • Content should address issues including programming language, assessment, pass rates, curriculum coverage, retention and motivation, range of student knowledge.
  • Due: Jan 6, 2014

• Report 2 (25%): A report presenting and analysing approaches to designing such a course for students who have learned some programming at high school.
  • Expected length: around 3000 words.
  • The report should focus on the curriculum content of such courses and the kinds of practical projects or assignments for such a course.
  • Due: Feb 3, 2014

• Project (50%): The design and analysis of an assignment for COMP112.
  The project should include
  • A specification of the learning goals for the assignment,
  • An assignment handout
  • Java code for supporting the assignment
  • Model answers for the assignment, including java code
  • An analysis of the assignment, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and areas that might need to be changed, and its relation to issues identified in reports 1 and 2.
  • Due: Feb 22, 2014

Assessment Criteria

The assessment of the reports will be based on criteria including:

• Demonstrated understanding of appropriate research literature.
• Clear exposition of the issues from the papers that were read.
• Clear structure of the survey
• Well written (spelling, grammar, clarity) with appropriate referencing of the literature.
• Appropriate bibliography.

The assessment of the project will be based on criteria including:

• Design of the assignment for its learning goals.
• Clarity of the assignment specification
• Quality of the code provided, including the model answer code.
• Completeness of the assignment
• Insightfulness of the analysis.

Mandatory Requirements

Weekly progress reports by email or in person, due by the end of each Friday.