SCS Curriculum Reinvention Committee: Difference between revisions

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This page contains notes and discussions related to the SCS Curriculum Reinvention Committee.
This page contains notes and discussions related to the SCS Curriculum Reinvention Committee.


The content below has gratuitous markup so as to make it obvious how to add more stuff.
=Requests for more data=


To edit this page, you first need to create an account - click the link in the top-right of the page. Then click on the edit tab just about the page headline. Or, you can edit individual sections.
*Why are students leaving SCS?
**What are the grades in SCS-related courses for students who change majors out of SCS?
**What majors do they switch to? After how many terms?
*DFW and A/B rates for 2009/2010 versus past years in 1405, 1406, 1805?


=COMP 1405/1406 Redesign=
=Courses to be examined=


==Topic Brainstorming==
Introductory Programming
*COMP 1405 - Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
*COMP 1406 - Design and Implementation of Computer Applications


Add topics here at the end of the section.  Please ''don't'' '''remove''' anything!
Theory
*COMP 1805 - Discrete Structures
*COMP 2805 - Introduction to Theory of Computation
*COMP 2402 - Abstract Data Types and Algorithms
*COMP 3804 - Design and Analysis of Algorithms I


* WHAT IS COMPUTER SCIENCE
Intermediate Programming
** problem solving
*COMP 1402 - Introduction to Systems Programming
** algorithms
*COMP 2404 - Programming in C++
** abstraction and problem decomposition
** efficiency ??
* PSEUDO-CODE ??
* SEQUENCING INSTRUCTIONS
** top down coding in sequence (e.g., draw a house)
* VARIABLES
** declaring vs. assigning
** memory usage ??
** constants
** examples:
*** compute simple math formulas
*** interactive input (e.g., use mouse position)
*** motion (if doing graphics)
* Numbers
** integers
** floats
* CONDITIONALS
** simple IF/ELSE
** nested IF
** booleans(AND/OR)
** examples:
*** make choices based on runtime input
*** basic state machine
*** edge cases / error checking
* ITERATION
** repeating X times (REPEAT)
** counting (FOR)
** repeating until condition (WHILE)
** nested loops
** examples
*** sum/avg/max/min
*** counting matches
*** MonteCarlo approximation
*** loop until user input
*** searching (find first match)
* ARRAYS (1D and 2D)
** initializing and memory usage
** simple 1D (sum.avg/max/min)
** insert/remove
** copy/growing array
* Optimization
** e.g., knapsack
** greedy
* Simulation
** virus clearing
** Roomba
* Abstract data types
* Sorting
* Search
** linear
** binary
** exhaustive
* Divide and conquer
* Dynamic programming
* FORMATTING
** string manipulation
** display in columns (i.e., tabbing)
** display dates/times
* Data structures
** lists
** structures
** tuples
** binary trees
** dictionaries
** sets
** stacks, queues
* Complexity analysis
** informal
* OBJECTS
** instance variables
** initialization (constructors)
** shared references
** static vs. instance
* FUNCTIONS and PROCEDURES
** simple computations and return values
** passing parameters
** passing arrays as parameters
** helper methods
* RECURSION (likely 1406 material?)
** inductive definitions of data and associated recursion patterns.
** direct vs. indirect
** tail recursion
** examples:
*** math problems (factorial/sum/avg)
*** searching mazes
*** iterate a non recursive data structure (array)
*** iterate a recursive data structure (e.g., tree)
* PERSISTENCE (likely 1406 material?)
** writing files
** reading files
** parsing files
* WINDOWING
** display text output
** get textfield input
** buttons
** design and layout
** handling events
** menus
** dialog boxes
* GRAPHICS
** drawing with lines/shapes
** grabbing/selecting/moving graphical objects
* User interaction
* PROPER CODING STYLE
** encapsulation
** polymorphism
** private/public/protected data
* INHERITANCE
** class hierarchies
** abstract vs. concrete classes ?
** overriding/inheriting methods
** type-casting (needed if JAVA used) ?
* NETWORKING ?? (1406 ... as interesting examples)
** read internet page
** two applications talk over network
* Event-driven programming
* Model-View-Controller (more for 1406)
* Database APIs
** Allow use of key/value stores as used by standard websites
* Testing and debugging
** design vs. implementation errors
** basic test cases, regression testing?
** basic debugger usage
** strategies for identifying and fixing programming problems
* Software licenses
** open source and commercial
** restrictions on reuse
* How to read code
* editing and building software
** basic IDE usage
* commenting, code formatting guidelines
* revision control
** have students grab class code from this, pull updates
** make commits/push to submit?
* Understanding APIs
** basic idea of contract, side effects
* Concurrency/parallel code
** maybe not standard locking but some clean parallel constructs?
* Relative costs of operations
** memory vs. I/O vs. computation
** very basic benchmarking
** main idea: know that you can't predict what is going to be fast in practice w/o tests


* my first wiki entry ever!  - djh
Other Core-ish Courses
*COMP 2003 - Computer Organization
*COMP 2405 - Internet Application Programming
*COMP 3000 - Operating Systems
*COMP 3002 - Compiler Construction
*COMP 3004 - Object-Oriented Software Engineering
*COMP 3005 - Database Management Systems
*COMP 3007 - Programming Paradigms
*COMP 3008 - User Interface Architecture
*COMP 3203 - Principles of Computer Networks
*STAT 2507
*STAT 2605


Should we copy the [http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/6-00Fall-2008/CourseHome/  MIT 6.00 outline] here?
=Detailed Discussions=


===Sub categories?===
*[[CR: COMP 1405/1406 Redesign|COMP 1405/1406 Redesign]]
Yes, we can add sub categories here.
*[[CR: Theory course redesign|Theory course redesign]]
 
*[[CR: Other CS approaches to Math/Theory]]
==COMP1405 LIST OF TOPICS (UNORDERED) FOR WEEKLY OUTLINE (Mark's Opinion)==
*[[CR: New course descriptions and rationale|New course descriptions and rationale]]
 
*[[CR: Survey of theory requirements in other Canadian Honours programs|Theory requirements survey]]
* WHAT IS COMPUTER SCIENCE
*[[CR: Reducing the Core Size|Reducing the Core Size]]
** problem solving
*[[CR: Learning Objectives]]
** algorithms
*[[CR: Proposal to Faculty May 2011]]
** abstraction and problem decomposition
*[[CR: stream changes]]
** divide and conquer
*[[CR: Proposal to Faculty September 2011]]
** efficiency (just an intro to the ideas behind it)
*[[CR: Third and Fourth Year]]
* PSEUDO-CODE
*[[CR: Attracting advanced students]]
* SEQUENCING INSTRUCTIONS
*[[CR: Curriculum Changes April 2012]]
** top down coding in sequence (e.g., draw a house)
*[[CR: to do list]]
* VARIABLES
*[[CR: Notes Fall 2012]]
** declaring vs. assigning
*[[CR: New 3rd year courses]]
** memory usage (how memory is affected)
*[[CR: Curriculum Changes for 2015/2016]]
** constants
*[[CR: Winter 2014]]
** examples:
*[[CR: Summer 2014]]
*** compute simple math formulas
*** interactive input (e.g., use mouse position)
*** motion (if doing graphics)
* Numbers
** integers
** floats
* CONDITIONALS
** simple IF/ELSE
** nested IF
** booleans(AND/OR)
** examples:
*** make choices based on runtime input
*** basic state machine
*** edge cases / error checking
* ITERATION
** repeating X times (REPEAT)
** counting (FOR)
** repeating until condition (WHILE)
** nested loops
** examples
*** sum/avg/max/min
*** counting matches
*** MonteCarlo approximation
*** loop until user input
*** searching (find first match)
* COMMENTING / CODE FORMATTING GUIDELINES
* ARRAYS (1D and 2D)
** initializing and memory usage
** simple 1D (sum.avg/max/min)
** insert/remove
** copy/growing array
* OBJECTS
** instance variables
** initialization (constructors)
** shared references
** static vs. instance
* FUNCTIONS and PROCEDURES
** simple computations and return values
** passing parameters
** passing arrays as parameters
** helper methods
* EVENT-DRIVEN PROGRAMMING (if using Processing)
* GRAPHICS (if using Processing)
** drawing with lines/shapes
** grabbing/selecting/moving graphical objects
* USER INTERACTION
* RELATIVE COSTS OF OPERATIONS
** memory vs. I/O vs. computation
** very basic benchmarking
** main idea: know that you can't predict what is going to be fast in practice w/o tests
* SORTING
* SEARCH
** linear
** binary
** exhaustive
* SIMULATION
** virus clearing
** Roomba
* HOW TO READ CODE ???
 
==COMP1406 LIST OF TOPICS (UNORDERED) FOR WEEKLY OUTLINE (Mark's Opinion)==
 
* EDITING AND BUILDING SOFTWARE
** basic IDE usage
* RECURSION
** inductive definitions of data and associated recursion patterns.
** direct vs. indirect
** tail recursion
** examples:
*** math problems (factorial/sum/avg)
*** searching mazes
*** iterate a non recursive data structure (array)
*** iterate a recursive data structure (e.g., tree)
* PERSISTENCE
** writing files
** reading files
** parsing files
* WINDOWING
** display text output
** get textfield input
** buttons
** design and layout
** handling events
** menus
** dialog boxes
* EVENT-DRIVEN PROGRAMMING (if not using Processing in 1405)
* MODEL/VIEW/CONTROLLER
* GRAPHICS (if not using Processing in 1405)
** drawing with lines/shapes
** grabbing/selecting/moving graphical objects
* PROPER CODING STYLE
** encapsulation
** polymorphism
** private/public/protected data
* INHERITANCE
** class hierarchies
** abstract vs. concrete classes ?
** overriding/inheriting methods
** type-casting (needed if JAVA used) ?
* NETWORKING
** read internet page
** two applications talk over network
* FORMATTING output nicely
** string manipulation
** display in columns (i.e., tabbing)
** display dates/times
* ABSTRACT DATA TYPES / DATA STRUCTURES
** lists
** structures
** tuples
** binary trees
** dictionaries
** sets
** stacks, queues
* TESTING AND DEBUGGING
** design vs. implementation errors
** basic test cases, regression testing?
** basic debugger usage
** strategies for identifying and fixing programming problems
* OPTIMIZATION
** e.g., knapsack
** greedy
* DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING
 
==EXTRA LIST OF TOPICS TO ADD IF TIME PERMITS (Mark's Opinion)==
 
* UNDERSTANDING APIs
** basic idea of contract, side effects
* DATABASE APIs ???
** Allow use of key/value stores as used by standard websites
* SOFTWARE LICENSES
** open source and commercial
** restrictions on reuse
* REVISION CONTROL
** have students grab class code from this, pull updates
** make commits/push to submit?
* CONCURRENCY/PARALLEL CODE
** maybe not standard locking but some clean parallel constructs?
 
==Sample weekly outline (Fall 2006)==
 
1. Introduction
Sept 7-8
    - intro to CS
    - class stuff
 
2. Algorithms
Sept 11-15
    - what are they
    - intro to problem solving
    - statements
    - pseudocode
 
3. Variables
Sept 18-22
    - concept
    - identifiers
    - assignment
    - expressions, arithmetic
 
4. Conditionals
Sept 25-29
    - Decision statements
    - boolean operators
    - if / then / else
    - case / switch
    - going from problem description to conditional statement
 
5. Iteration
Oct 2-6
    - idea of looping
    - starting / stopping / stepping
    - loop bodies
    - top and bottom loops
    - for loops
    - while loops
    - going from problem to loop statements
 
6. Subprograms
Oct 9-13
    - idea of modularization
    - functions and procedures
    - parameter passing
    - variable scope
    - when to modularize (problem solving)
 
7. Computer architecture
Oct 16-20
    - basic von Neumann architecture
    - linear memory organization
    - possibly midterm post-mortem in this week
 
8. Data structures 1: Arrays
Oct 23-27
    - idea of data structures & collections
    - arrays & linear memory
    - array operations, initialization
    - relation to loops
    - 2D arrays
    - going from problem to array specification
 
9. Data structures 2: Structs
Oct 30-Nov 3
    - idea of user-defined structures
    - why and when to use
    - examples
 
10. Searching
Nov 6-10
    - a larger problem domain
    - linear and binary search
    - 'putting it all together' (arrays, loops, variables, etc)
    - introduction to algorithm analysis (just the idea that different
algorithms can take different time)
 
11. Sorting
Nov 13-17
    - same basic structure as searching week
    - bubble sort and selection sort
 
12. Recursion
Nov 20-24
    - introduction to the idea
    - base cases & recursive cases
    - composition steps (returning a value)
 
13. Review
Nov 27-Dec 4
    - lab exam postmortem
    - review for the final
 
==Textbooks==
* Sedgewick and Wayne, [http://www.cs.princeton.edu/introcs/home/ Introduction to Programming in Java]

Latest revision as of 20:46, 28 April 2014

This page contains notes and discussions related to the SCS Curriculum Reinvention Committee.

Requests for more data

  • Why are students leaving SCS?
    • What are the grades in SCS-related courses for students who change majors out of SCS?
    • What majors do they switch to? After how many terms?
  • DFW and A/B rates for 2009/2010 versus past years in 1405, 1406, 1805?

Courses to be examined

Introductory Programming

  • COMP 1405 - Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
  • COMP 1406 - Design and Implementation of Computer Applications

Theory

  • COMP 1805 - Discrete Structures
  • COMP 2805 - Introduction to Theory of Computation
  • COMP 2402 - Abstract Data Types and Algorithms
  • COMP 3804 - Design and Analysis of Algorithms I

Intermediate Programming

  • COMP 1402 - Introduction to Systems Programming
  • COMP 2404 - Programming in C++

Other Core-ish Courses

  • COMP 2003 - Computer Organization
  • COMP 2405 - Internet Application Programming
  • COMP 3000 - Operating Systems
  • COMP 3002 - Compiler Construction
  • COMP 3004 - Object-Oriented Software Engineering
  • COMP 3005 - Database Management Systems
  • COMP 3007 - Programming Paradigms
  • COMP 3008 - User Interface Architecture
  • COMP 3203 - Principles of Computer Networks
  • STAT 2507
  • STAT 2605

Detailed Discussions