COMPUTATION & PROBLEM SOLVING
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course overview
Computers play a critical role in just about everything humans do, and software professionals need a deep appreciation for the human and business aspects, as well as the theoretical. This gentleintroduction to computing and problem solving provides students with realistic insights about the field ofcomputing.
At the heart of computing is a way of thinking and working that is more disciplined than many studentshave ever experienced, but the benefits of seeing, understanding and then developing those skills canbe stunning. This course prepares and launches students down educational paths in all of the scienceand business domains, as well as in careers as software developers, software engineers, and computerscientists.
Computation and Problem Solving is a 15-week course in which you will learn problem-solving approaches and tools, professional communications, and professional behavior. You will learn the world of professional deliverables, processes and behavior by joining the fictional company iCarnegie Consulting (iC) as a junior intern. In this role, you will solve problems using tools such as HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and JQuery. You will:
Create, debug, and and update a professional website for one of iCarnegie Consulting's customers
Gather, organize, and present information to help a client make business-critical decisions
Interact, collaborate and communicate effectively with your instructor and fellow students
The primary goals of this introductory course are for you to:
Develop professional, interactive websites that meet customer needs
Research cutting-edge issues
Become aware of your behavior and how others perceive it
Learn what appropriate behavior in a professional environment looks like
Research, develop,organize, and deliver compelling, evidence-based presentations and documents
While you willcollaborate with your classmates in small groups, this course contains no team deliverables. Each student must submit his or her own deliverables for grading and feedback.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE
To pass the course
In order to be prepared for future coursework, you must earn at least a “C” in this course. To do this, you must complete the following tasks at a bare minimum:
Complete the assigned readings.The bulk of the knowledge required to succeed in this course comes from the assigned readings. When you come to class, I will assume you have completed the reading and will not repeat the information covered there—though I may ask you questions that require you to know it.
Attend and participate in class.Classroom time is about discipline, skill, and working toward professional performance and quality. Most classes will feature in-class discussions and exercises. While you will usually complete these in teams of two or three students, you will submit your work individually, as with all coursework.
To excel in the course
Class sessions, reading assignments, and projects cover most of what you need to meet the minimal requirements above. But if you wish to achieve an exemplary grade, you will need to go beyond that material by researching, practicing, and experimenting with the subject matter. Just as on the job, above-average performance requires initiative and taking charge of your own learning.
LEARNING-BY-DOING (LBD), STORY-CENTERED CURRICULUM
This course gives you opportunities to practice what you learn by participating in learning-by-doing activities that include individual and small group tasks, completed in a situated, context-rich environment that authentically mirrors the workplace.
This environment, called the “back story,” casts you in the role of a junior intern at a firm, iCarnegie Consulting, where you will solve problems that resemble those encountered by real companies every day.
As you complete the projects, I will play two roles in addition to my traditional function as an instructor. I will act as:
A managerwho will play the role of your boss at iCarnegie. As your manager, I want (and expect) you to do well at the work I give you, and will have information to help you succeed. However, I have my own job to do, so you will need to respect my time. I will have little patience if you come to me unprepared or ask questions you could have answered yourself.
A coachwho helps you to complete your assigned project, not by spoon-feeding you the answers, but by guiding you to find them on your own. As a coach, most of what I say to you will take the form of questions. My goal in doing this is not to frustrate you, but to make you think.
In this class, professionalism is as important as technical skill. Besides demonstrating your skills, you will need to work effectively in teams, examine problems from multiple viewpoints, ask questions and conduct research to ensure you understand the requirements, and articulate your solutions clearly. When you have mastered these skills, they will be essentialafter you graduate and enter the workplace.
Another integral part of learning by doing is seeking and absorbing the hard-earned wisdom of seasoned domain experts in your community of practice. In this course, you will be able to do this by consulting me, of course. You will also have access to case studies, textbooks and other materials. I encourage you to refer to these resources as needed to complete the deliverables for this course.
Finally, just as on the job, your work products will be evaluated against standards—by you, your classmates, the instructor, and the whole class. You will need to work both quickly and effectively, and doing so will require a solid command of the basic individual skills from the reading and lectures.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completing this course, you will be able to:
Organize, browse, edit and manage a variety of file types
Develop, validate and debug simple interactive websites using HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Describe basic software-development tools, processes, and concepts such as debugging, data representation, source code, executable code, verifiers, and APIs
Deliver short, easy presentations and documents that are well considered, compelling and supported by evidence
Research and evaluate information
Present findings in an organized and compelling manner
Discuss the notion that every problem has multiple solutions, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and that success is tied to finding the technical solution that best fits into the non-technical dimensions of a specific problem.
PREREQUISITES/CO-REQUISITES
There are no prerequisites or co-requisites for this course.
Textbook