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Broadening student enthusiasm for computer science with a great insights course

Published: 10 March 2010 Publication History

Abstract

We describe the "Great Insights in Computer Science" courses that are taught at Rutgers and UMBC. These courses were designed independently, but have in common a broad, engaging introduction to computing for non-majors. Both courses include a programming component to help the students gain an intuition for computational concepts, but neither is primarily programming focused. We present data to show that these courses attract a diverse group of students; are rated positively; and increase students' understanding of, and attitudes towards, computing and computational issues.

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      cover image ACM Conferences
      SIGCSE '10: Proceedings of the 41st ACM technical symposium on Computer science education
      March 2010
      618 pages
      ISBN:9781450300063
      DOI:10.1145/1734263
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      Published: 10 March 2010

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      1. attitudes towards computing
      2. introductory courses

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      • (2021)Improving the Success of Non-Traditional Students in an Introductory Computing Course2021 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)10.1109/FIE49875.2021.9637278(1-5)Online publication date: 13-Oct-2021
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