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AAA and CS 1: the applied apprenticeship approach to CS 1

Published:15 March 1995Publication History
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Abstract

We have developed an application-based approach to introductory courses in computer science. This approach follows an apprenticeship model of learning, where students begin by reading, studying, and extending programs written by experienced and expert programmers. Applications play a central role since programming constructs are motivated and introduced in the context of applications, not the other way around as is the tradition in most texts and courses. Under our applied approach, (1) students are able to learn from interesting real-world examples, (2) the synthesis of different programming constructs is supported using incremental examples, and (3) good design is stressed vis code and concept reuse. In this paper, we provide several examples of our method as well as pointers to all the material we have developed which is freely available electronically. The philosophy underlying this method transcends a particular programming language, but we present our examples using C++ since that is the language used in the CS 1 and CS 2 courses at Duke. This method has been used with equal success using ISETL at Dickinson.

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              • Published in

                cover image ACM SIGCSE Bulletin
                ACM SIGCSE Bulletin  Volume 27, Issue 1
                March 1995
                402 pages
                ISSN:0097-8418
                DOI:10.1145/199691
                Issue’s Table of Contents
                • cover image ACM Conferences
                  SIGCSE '95: Proceedings of the twenty-sixth SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
                  March 1995
                  436 pages
                  ISBN:089791693X
                  DOI:10.1145/199688
                  • Chairman:
                  • Cary Laxer,
                  • Editors:
                  • Curt M. White,
                  • James E. Miller,
                  • Judy Gersting

                Copyright © 1995 ACM

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                Association for Computing Machinery

                New York, NY, United States

                Publication History

                • Published: 15 March 1995

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