Computer-assisted instruction for a first course in computer science

Author

Carver, Richard

Author_Institution

Dept. of Comput. Sci., George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA, USA

Volume

2

fYear

1996

fDate

6-9 Nov 1996

Firstpage

721

Abstract

The promise of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) was recognized long ago, but CAI is not widely used in college-level science and engineering curricula. Standup lectures remain the method of choice for delivering classroom instruction. In this paper, we describe an educational software package called ALECS (A Learning Environment for Computer Science). ALECS has been used in a first-semester computer science course to dramatically reduce the time devoted to standup lectures, which gives the instructor more time for tutoring. ALECS provides assistance in three areas: instruction, feedback and student tracking. We describe each of these areas and the changes ALECS enables in the structure of our courses and in the classroom

Keywords

computer science education; courseware; educational courses; ALECS; classroom instruction; computer science course; computer-assisted instruction; course structure; educational software package; feedback; learning environment; standup lectures; student tracking; tutoring; Computational modeling; Computer aided instruction; Computer languages; Computer science; Education; Educational institutions; Feedback; Laboratories; Programming profession; Software packages;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Frontiers in Education Conference, 1996. FIE '96. 26th Annual Conference., Proceedings of

Conference_Location

Salt Lake City, UT

ISSN

0190-5848

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3348-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/FIE.1996.573054

Filename

573054