Sharing introductory programming curriculum across disciplines

ABSTRACT

Originally there was one computing curriculum, computer science, which provided a "one-size-fits-all" education in programming and computing in general. Today, computing education has diverged into an array of sub-discipline areas as educators try to meet the changing computing needs of business and industry. Information technology, software engineering, computer engineering, and information systems have emerged from computer science as distinct computing disciplines. Plus, additional "micro-disciplines" are quickly emerging: games and networking from information technology, for example.

The foundation skill for all computing disciplines is programming. However as computing technologies advance, discipline-specific differences increase. Each computing sub-discipline needs to approach programming from a slightly different viewpoint to meet student expectations of being highly marketable and employer expectations of quick productivity. How can colleges and universities economically meet the competing demands for a focused computing education while maintaining a strong foundation in programming fundamentals.

This paper discusses how an introductory programming sequence can be designed with a common base to support multiple computing sub-disciplines as well as differentiated to address the specific, focused needs of a given sub-discipline. We identify both commonalities that support economy of scale and important differences that distinguish sub-discipline curricula.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.2 Computer and Information Science Education
          Subjects: Curriculum

Keywords:
computer programming, curriculum, curriculum comparison, information technology education, sharing curriculum