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ITICSE
2010
ACM

Experience report: CS1 for majors with media computation

14 years 4 months ago
Experience report: CS1 for majors with media computation
Previous reports of a media computation approach to teaching programming have either focused on pre-CS1 courses or courses for non-majors. We report the adoption of a media computation context in a majors’ CS1 course at a large, selective R1 institution in the U.S. The main goal was to increase retention of majors, but do so by replacing the traditional CS1 course directly (fully preparing students for the subsequent course). In this paper we provide an experience report for instructors interested in this approach. We compare a traditional CS1 with a media computation CS1 in terms of desired student competencies (analyzed via programming assignments and exams) and find the media computation approach to focus more on problem solving and less on language issues. In comparing student success (analyzed via pass rates and retention rates one year later) we find pass rates to be statistically significantly higher with media computation both for majors and for the class as a whole. We give...
Beth Simon, Päivi Kinnunen, Leo Porter, Dov Z
Added 12 Aug 2010
Updated 12 Aug 2010
Type Conference
Year 2010
Where ITICSE
Authors Beth Simon, Päivi Kinnunen, Leo Porter, Dov Zazkis
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