Fostering a creative interest in computer science

Authors:
Gary Lewandowski;Elizabeth Johnson;Michael Goldweber
Affiliations:
Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH;Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH;Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH
Venue:
Proceedings of the 36th SIGCSE technical symposium on Computer science education
Year:
2005

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Abstract

In this paper, we describe activities undertaken at our university to revise our computer science program to develop an environment and curriculum which encourages creative, hands-on learning by our students. Our main changes were the development of laboratory space, increased hands-on problem solving activities in the introductory course, open-ended programming projects in the early courses including a requirement of an open-ended project extension for an A grade, and the integration of a seminar into the senior project requirement. Our results suggest that these changes have improved student skill and willingness to deal with new problems and technologies. An additional surprising side-effect appears to be a dramatic increase in retention over the first two years, despite lower overall grade averages in those courses.