Introduction to Programming Syllabus
Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- Identify for the following set of industries/disciplines how technology is changing the nature of those industries/disciplines:
- Agriculture
- Humanities
- Education
- Geology
- Art
- Business
- Describe how a computer executes programs.
- Create simple programs using basic programming constructs that include:
- Use of variables.
- Evaluation of mathematical expressions.
- Control flow constructs including an if statement, a while statement, and/or a for loop.
- Basic Input from the keyboard and output to the display.
- Basic input and output from a file.
- Use a Python development environment to create and debug simple programs.
- Identify resources that can be used to create programs for specific platforms.
- Identify how to use those other resources successfully to create a simple application on a different platform.
Description
This course provides an introduction to computer programming intended for people with no programming experience. This course is recommended for non-majors in order to get an overview of programming principles and techniques. This course covers the basics of programming in Python, including elementary data types (numeric types, strings, lists, dictionaries, and files), control flow, functions, objects, methods, fields, and mutability.
Learning Model Architecture
Students will prepare by watching brief lecture videos to understand key concepts relevant to lesson assignments.
Students will teach one another as they explore the field of programming and its impact on various industries and share their research in the discussion board.
Students will ponder and prove by completing the Codecademy course on learning Python.
Prerequisites
None.
Policies
You may work with your classmates but all submitted work must be original. Share ideas; do not share code! Assistance from a classmate should be on par with the help you would expect from a lab assistant. The penalty for copying or plagiarizing of assignments might be one or more of the following: -100% on an assignment, being asked to withdraw from the class, a failing grade in the class, or disciplinary action by the University. For more information about this, please see this document on plagiarism.
Late work will be accepted with a 10% penalty per day. If you know of an upcoming event that will keep you from turning something in on-time, please contact your instructor to make prior arrangements. As a general rule, the instructor will be more accommodating before the due date than after.
Required Materials
An account with Codecademy.com (free) and access to their Python course.
Grading Policies
Students' final grades will be based on the assignments listed below. Additional information about these assignments can be found throughout the course.
| Percentage of Total Grade | Assignments |
|---|---|
| Codecademy Python Course Units | 40% |
| Final Project | 20% |
| Field Exploration/Coding Assignments | 40% |
Students' overall course grades will be calculated using the following scale:
| Percentage Range | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| A | 93.0%–100% |
| A- | 90.0%–92.9% |
| B+ | 87.0%–89.9% |
| B | 83.0%–86.9% |
| B- | 80.0%–82.9% |
| C+ | 77.0%–79.9% |
| C | 73.0%–76.9% |
| C- | 70.0%–72.9% |
| D | 65.0%–69.9% |
| F | 0%–64.9% |
Disclaimers
The instructor reserves the right to change any part of this syllabus at any time during the semester in order to adapt to changing course needs. You will be notified prior to any changes that may take place.