Promising Practices in CS1: Panel Agenda This Short Introduction Barbara Ericson, Georgia Institute of Technology Deepak Kumar, Bryn Mawr College Wanda Dann, Carnegie-Mellon University Lynn Lambert, Christopher Newport University

Promising Practices in CS1 October 18, 2007 Promising Practices in CS1 Lynn Lambert Physics, Computer Science and Engineering Christopher Newport University Newport News, Virginia

CNU following national trends Java and Collaborative Intervention Started Promising Practices in CS1

CS1 at CNU: Java since Fall 2004 Coverage: standard Writing a Java program / Methods, classes if / loops Using objects / Writing and using methods Arrays / ArrayLists Testing/ Wrapper classes, this, main, static File I/O / Inheritance Abstract Classes and Interfaces Promising Practices in CS1

"Helps me learn Java" (1=no! … 5=yes!) Promising Practices in CS1

Collaborative Elements Programming partners: –Williams et. al. Collaborative homework Computer Science Unplugged Group Scribbles Writing on the board Clickers Promising Practices in CS1

Writing on the Board Entire class gets up, works at board in groups of 2 or 3 Make problems small (e.g., "Create an ArrayList using generics. Write a print method.") Forces focus on concepts (at a computer, focus ';'s) Works best with class of Promising Practices in CS1

+/-s to Writing on Board + easy for instructor to see all students' code + everybody participates, but in groups simultaneously, so low pressure + students get immediate feedback + students eavesdrop on each other and instructor -hard for wheelchair bound students -must allow time for students to copy code into their notes Promising Practices in CS1

Students discuss their reasons Then vote again Clickers Students enter multiple choice answer with clickers Choices displayed in aggregate Promising Practices in CS1

Results Standard CS1 course Retention to CS2 has gone from 60% (Ave 02-05) to 70% (Fall07) Enrollment is up 10% Fall 2007 from Fall 2006 Related? Promising Practices in CS1

Counting the Dots: Binary Numbers Color By Numbers: Image Representation You Can Say That Again!: TextCompression Card Flip Magic: Error Detection and Correction Battleships: Searching Algorithms Lightest And Heaviest: Sorting Algorithms Beat the Clock: Sorting Networks The Muddy City: Minimal Spanning Trees The Orange Game: Routing and Deadlock Treasure Hunt: Finite-state Automata Marching Orders: Programming Languages Promising Practices in CS1

GroupScribbles from SRI Promising Practices in CS1 groupscribbles.sri.com virtual post-it notes works best with tabletPCs

Comments? Your experiences? Promising Practices in CS1