1. Using Alice in an introductory programming course for non-CS majors Adelaida A. Medlock Department of Computer Science Drexel University aalban@cs.drexel.edu

2. Today’s presentation The challenge Before Alice Our new approach Results Observations and conclusions

3. Challenges Traditional introductory programming courses usually have little success engaging non-CS majors: –Lack of interest and motivation –Personal perception towards programming –Little prior exposure to programming –Difficulty grasping concepts while learning syntax

4. Who are our students? Digital Media Math Business Engineering Physics Chemistry

5. Before we adopted Alice A sequence of three courses, all taught in C++ –Lecture (1.5 hours) + Lab (2 hours) Students did not have previous programming experience There was an obvious lack of motivation/interest: –“The greatest strength is that I DONT NEED TO TAKE THIS COURSE ANY MORE” –“Don’t make Digital Media students take it as a required class” –“I vote it should be removed from my curriculum. I’m not a programmer and won’t be in the future” –“This course was really hard” –“I hate C++”

6. Our new approach A sequence of three courses –CS 130: taught entirely in Alice –CS 131: taught in C++ –CS 132: taught in C++, more advanced topics Lecture (2 hours) + Lab (2 hours)

7. CS 130 Programming Concepts with 3-D Animation Project based course: –1 lecture session –1 lab session –1 midterm exam –Homework assignments –1 term project

8. Course Goals Familiarize the students with: –Abstraction –Algorithmic thinking –Basic programming concepts –Design –Group work –Documentation

9. Environment and textbook Alice 2.0

10. Lecture 1 two-hour session per week Concept discussion Demos

11. Labs Group assignment Structured, focused on specific concepts Each lab exercise has two components: –Design –Program A lab instructor and an assistant provide support and guidance to the students during the lab sessions

12. Homework Three individual homework assignments are given during the term Open-ended projects. Guidelines are provided for general theme and programming concepts to use. Deliverables include: –Design document –Animation

13. Term Project Group project Project specifications are given on week 4 Project is due on week 10 Open ended Interactive Guidelines are provided for programming concepts to used

14. Project details Four components: –Design –Animation –Documentation Description User’s manual Story boards Division and integration of work Limitations and suggestions for improvement –Oral presentation and Demo session

15. Project Grading Grading criteria for the project include: –team effort, –quality of the design and documentation, –quality of the oral presentation, –compliance with the project specification and guidelines.

16. Project objectives Emphasize the significance of the design stage. Provide a venue to incorporate all the programming concepts discussed over the term. Highlight the relevance of written documentation as a mean to communicate relevant information of their work.

17. Project objectives Provide an opportunity for the students to practice presenting their work to an audience. Provide an environment where the students realize the importance and benefits of working in a team. –opportunity to practice interpersonal communication, organizational skills, and fair division of work

18. Examples of project themes Most students choose to develop games, but interactive story-telling projects are also frequently selected. –Blackjack –Rock-paper-scissors –Pac-man –Japanese tutor –A story where the user gets to choose the end

19. Examples

20. Observations The open nature of the project and homework assignments –Keeps students engaged. –Encourages creativity and allows for further exploration. –Fosters independent research of other programming features.

21. Observations Motivation and enthusiasm among the students is evident. –“my favorite part of the course was the project” –“homework assignments were fun” –“I feel I learned a lot in this course” Students are excited about presenting their work as well as seeing what other groups have done.

22. After Alice The follow up C++ courses……. –Cover the same topics –Similar lab assignments –Similar homework assignments –Use the same exams ….. as the C++ courses we were teaching before we started using Alice

23. Results Fall 200477 Fall 200575 Winter 200678 Spring 200676 Sample size: between 50 and 75 students CS 131 Average Grade (Pre-Alice) Spring 200780 Fall 200780 Winter 200883 Spring 200880 Winter 200980 CS 131 Average Grade (Post-Alice)

24. Results Summer 200576 Spring 200669 Summer 200674 Sample size: between 25 and 50 students CS 132 Average Grade (Pre-Alice) Winter 200880 Spring 200890 Spring 200980 CS 132 Average Grade (Post-Alice)

25. Conclusions Open ended assignments keep students motivated and engaged Students have a better chance to succeed in the follow up courses because they are already familiar with all the basic programming concepts. Student performance in the follow up courses has improved Student satisfaction and engagement in the follow up courses have increased.

26. Questions