The Design and Implementation of a First Course in Computer Programming for Computing Majors, Non-Majors, and Industry Professionals within a Liberal Education Framework

1
The Design and Implementation of a First Course
in Computer Programming for Computing Majors,
Non-Majors, and Industry Professionals within a
Liberal Education Framework

• Ronald J. Harkins, Miami University
• Hamilton, Ohio

2
Introduction to Computer Concepts and Programming
(CSA 163)

• First course in problem solving/programming in
  Visual Basic
• Satisfies Liberal Education Requirement
  (Mathematics, Formal Reasoning, Technology)
• Enrolled students
• Computing majors preparing to take OOP course in
  Java
• Working professionals updating programming skills
• Non-majors fulfilling liberal education
  requirement

3
Miami Plan Liberal Education Principles

• Critical Thinking
• Understanding Contexts
• Engaging with Other Learners
• Reflecting and Acting

4
Critical Thinking Principle in CSA 163

• Algorithm Development
• Problem Solving/Logical Reasoning
• Relevance of Input Data and Output Information
• Debugging Programs
• Appraisal of alternative algorithms/solutions

5
Critical Thinking Principle in CSA 163(cont.)

• Computing majors and Working Professionals seem
  to exhibit different levels of critical thinking
  skills than non-majors
• Small groups and pair programming activities seem
  to help non-majors with quantitative critical
  thinking tasks
• Socially relevant context in problem solving
  helps focus critical thinking of non-majors

6
Understanding Context Principle in CSA 163

• Studying related computer concepts adds context
  to computer programming
• Working professionals and computing majors are
  familiar with many computer concepts
• Non-majors/liberal education students contribute
  to technical topics under study by providing
  related cultural/societal implications

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Engaging With Other Learners Principle in CSA 163

• Improves confidence and self-esteem
• Helps dissolve classroom hierarchies
• Reduces student competition
• Encourages cooperation

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Pair Programming in CSA 163

• Driver and Navigator share one computer
• Roles change periodically to ensure both
  experiences for each partner
• Mixed constituency pairings
• Non-majors provide user considerations
• Majors provide technical expertise
• Professionals provide real-life rationale

9
Pair Programming in CSA 163Benefits

• Students sometimes learn more from others than
  from a textor professor!
• Problem solving/programming is more socially
  enjoyable and satisfying
• Computing majors seem empowered
• Professionals add on the job commentary
• Non-majors seem more comfortable with peers
• Team-programming extends naturally from pair
  programming

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Pair Programming in CSA 163Challenges

• Balancing work contribution between partners
• Completion of pair activities outside of class
• Partner dependency

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Reflecting and Acting Principle in CSA 163

• Altering code and noting impact of modifications
• Testing programs with different data sets and
  noting accuracy of output information
• Noting real life relevance of output
  information
• Adjusting interface to improve customer (user)
  friendliness
• Making code forgiving for customers (users)

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Reflecting and Acting Principle in CSA 163
(contd)

• Utilize societal issues/problems to encourage
  reflection/action on program output
• Require written reflective commentary to
  accompany program output
• Consider requiring oral presentations, with
  reflective review, for team programming projects

13
Reflecting and Acting Principle in CSA 163
(contd)

• Writing opportunities can include
• Short answer questions on exams, assignments
• Extensive explanatory program documentation
• Short opinion/reflection paper
• Short technical research paper
• Meaningful writing experiences targeted to each
  student constituency group

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Aligning Pedagogy with Objectives for Computing
Majors, Non-Majors, and Industry Professionals in
CSA 163

• Discovery learning challenges for majors
• Reflective activities for non-majors
• Real-life applications with tangible
  results/skills for working professionals
• Student constituency diversity improves the course

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Pedagogical Maxims for Mixed Constituency
Technology Courses

• Just Do It
• Mix It Up
• Can I Help You?
• Put It In Writing
• Get Real
• But Does It (Always) Work?
• Hows It Going?
• Be There

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Pedagogical Maxims for Mixed Constituency
Technology Courses

• Just Do IT
• Online active learning
• Practice, mastery, discovery learning
• Mix It Up
• Short, interruptive lectures
• Demonstrations, lab activities, quizzes
• Whole class involvement (eg. group debugging)

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Pedagogical Maxims for Mixed Constituency
Technology Courses

• Can I Help You?
• Encourage peer learning
• Act as a helicopter instructor during pair
  programming activities
• (Engaging with other learners principle)
• Put It In Writing
• Integrate writing into course activities
• Incorporate reflection/action into writing
  directives
• Connect major written paper with objectives of
  each student constituency

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Pedagogical Maxims for Mixed Constituency
Technology Courses

• Get Real
• Include real-life problems for program
  solution
• Direct applications to needs of enrolled
  constituencies
• Use analogies for difficult programming topics
  (Understanding contexts principle)
• Try to include problems with societal/ethical
  issues (Reflecting and acting principle)

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Pedagogical Maxims for Mixed Constituency
Technology Courses

• But Does It (Always) Work?
• Require extensive testing to encourage
  development of robust, reliable, algorithms
• In pair programming labs, have one partner
  break the program, while the other tries to fix
  it (Critical thinking principle)
• Ask students to comment on relevance of output
  information (Reflecting and acting principle)

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Pedagogical Maxims for Mixed Constituency
Technology Courses

• Hows It Going?
• Assess frequently
• Include formative evaluation
• Use a variety of evaluative techniques
• Focus certain evaluation methods to certain class
  constituencies
• Try peer evaluation (student and instructor led)

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Pedagogical Maxims for Mixed Constituency
Technology Courses

• Be There
• Encourage attendance with a class session event
• Try posting incomplete lecture notes to be
  completed in class
• Try to incorporate active learning into every
  class session

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Conclusion

• A technology-driven course, while focused on
  problem solving and skill acquisition, can
  nonetheless be structured to incorporate the
  critical thinking, understanding contexts,
  engaging with other learners, and the
  reflection/action educational principles to
  produce a course rich in both liberal education
  and technical skill acquisition. This mix is
  very appropriate for todays students preparing
  for tomorrows careers in an increasingly
  technical and culturally diverse society.

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Thank You

• Dr. Ronald J. Harkins
• Associate Professor, Department of Computer and
  Information Technology
• Miami University
• Hamilton, Ohio
• Email harkinrj_at_muohio.edu