CS + x meets cs 1: Strongly themed intro courses

Abstract

Typical CS 1 classes are about many things. The problems and examplesare drawn from a variety of domains, with a goal of teaching a computational problem-solving approach and specific language constructs. Many CS 1 courses begin with writing programs that perform simple calculations, transition to more substantial simulations or games in the middle, and perhaps one or two SIGCSE Nifty Assignments at the end. In this panel, we explore the stronglythemed' approach in which many of the programs and examples used in the course come from a single domain which provides a theme for the course.