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Team dynamics and the undergraduate curriculum

Published:01 December 1978Publication History
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Abstract

The work habits of computer science students are rarely good. Most students adopt undesirably hermetic attitudes toward problem solving, despite the fact that large-scale programming problems demand cooperative efforts for their effective solution.This is not surprising. Students learn to write programs by working alone, and are rewarded for creating programs which are somehow innovative. Much of the work produced in this sort of fashionably competitive setting is poorly communicable. Students develop idiosyncratic styles of working out-and writing down-their results, and have difficulty understanding and appreciating each other's accomplishments. Indeed, it could be said that student programs are "original" largely to the extent that they are unintelligible to other students of ostensibly similar background.This paper outlines some ways in which the curriculum of undergraduate computer science courses can be designed to promote team-oriented attitudes toward problem solving. Each of the examples discussed has been used by one or more of the authors in undergraduate classes.

References

  1. Hatfield, F. J. and R. R. Alexander, "Cooperative Education: Making It Work," SIGCSE Bulletin, Vol. 10, No. 1, February 1978. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  2. Mize, J. L., "Making an Academic Curriculum Relevant to Business Requirements," SIGCSE Bulletin, Vol. 8, No. 2, June 1976. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  3. Perry, J. M. and N. E. Sondak, "The Project Experience in Undergraduate Computer Science Education," SIGCSE Bulletin, vol. 10, No. 2, June 1978. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  4. Schneider, G. M., "The Introductory Programming Course in Computer Science-Ten Principles," SIGCSE Bulletin, vol. 10, No. 1, February 1978. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library
  5. Snelly, G. G., "Why Industry won't Hire Your Graduate," Proceedings of NCC '74, vol. 43, 227--229. Google ScholarGoogle ScholarDigital LibraryDigital Library

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  1. Team dynamics and the undergraduate curriculum

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        cover image ACM SIGCSE Bulletin
        ACM SIGCSE Bulletin  Volume 10, Issue 4
        December 1978
        58 pages
        ISSN:0097-8418
        DOI:10.1145/988906
        Issue’s Table of Contents

        Copyright © 1978 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s)

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        Association for Computing Machinery

        New York, NY, United States

        Publication History

        • Published: 1 December 1978

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