Abstract
We describe a first-year course sequence for computer science majors that covers most of the traditional first-year concepts, providing a balance between formal analysis and software synthesis, with examples and assignments in three high-level programming languages: Pascal, Scheme (a lexically scoped dialect of Lisp), and C. We argue that this balanced, tri-lingual approach promotes more effective pedagogy and provides students with a broader foundation than does an all-formal, all-programming, or single-language focus.
- 1 Computer Science: an Overview, third edition, by J. Glenn Brookshear (Benjamin Cummings, 1991) Google Scholar
Digital Library
- 2 Programming for People/Pascal, by David G. Kay (Mayfield, 1985);Google Scholar
- 3 The Little Lisper, third edition, by Daniel P. Friedman and Matthias Felleisen (SRA, 1989).Google Scholar
- 4 The Scheme Programming Language, by R. Kent Dybvig (Prentice-Hall, 1987). Google Scholar
Digital Library
- 5 Programming in C, by Lawrence H. Miller and Alex Quilici (Wiley, 1986).Google Scholar
- 6 From Pascal to C: An Introduction to the C Programming Language, by Douglas L. Brown (Wadsworth, 1985). Google Scholar
Digital Library
- 7 C as a Second Language for Native Speakers of Pascal, by Tomasz Miildner and Peter W. Steele (Addison-Wesley, 1988) Google Scholar
Digital Library
- 8 Scheme and The Art of Programming, by George Springer and Daniel Friedman (MIT Press/McGraw- Hill, 1989). Google Scholar
Digital Library
Index Terms
A balanced approach to first-year computer science
Recommendations
A balanced approach to first-year computer science
SIGCSE '92: Proceedings of the twenty-third SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science educationWe describe a first-year course sequence for computer science majors that covers most of the traditional first-year concepts, providing a balance between formal analysis and software synthesis, with examples and assignments in three high-level ...
What is a first-year computer science graduate student?
Proceedings of the SIGCSE-SIGCUE joint symposium on Computer science educationThis is an informal discussion of several problems we have begun to notice in our graduate degree program. As the birthplace of the ENIAC, the University of Pennsylvania has long been a source of computer related courses in its graduate curriculum. With ...
Preparing students for the first AP computer science principles exam: the perspective of CS teachers
This research presentation reports on a case study examining the teaching practices of seven high school computer science (CS) teachers from schools located across the Western New York (WNY) area. The interviews focused on the challenges and successes ...






Comments