Programming studio: A course for improving programming skills in undergraduates

Michael Woodley, Samuel N. Kamin

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Even after taking numerous programming courses, many students have poor programming skills. This is a problem not only in their post-graduation employment, but even in the higher-level Computer Science courses, where large programs are routinely assigned. Yet, teaching programming skills is expensive; like teaching writing, it can only be accomplished by a repeated cycle of writing, getting informed feedback, and rewriting. In this paper, we describe a computer science course designed around the concept of a studio course like those used in art and architecture. Its key elements are practice, public presentation, and review by peers in a small group. We discuss our experience in teaching the course for two years. We believe this course can be replicated and taught, at reasonable cost, even in large CS departments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationSIGCSE 2007
Subtitle of host publication38th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Pages531-535
Number of pages5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes
EventSIGCSE 2007: 38th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education - Covington, KY, United States
Duration: Mar 7 2007Mar 10 2007

Publication series

NameSIGCSE 2007: 38th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education

Conference

ConferenceSIGCSE 2007: 38th SIGCSE Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityCovington, KY
Period3/7/073/10/07

Keywords

  • Practice
  • Programming
  • Undergraduate education

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Computer Science
  • Education

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