Curriculum 2001: bringing the future to the classroom

ABSTRACT

The discipline of computing encompasses the understanding, design, and use of computers and computational processes. The breadth of the discipline is emphasized in the following quotation from a report issued by the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board. [1]The discipline ranges from theoretical studies of algorithms and computability to practical problems of implementations in terms of computational hardware and software. Thus, the discipline spans both advancing the fundamental understanding of algorithms and information processes in general as well as the practical design of efficient reliable software and hardware to meet given specification[s] …. [I]t includes theoretical studies, experimental methods and engineering design in all disciplines.Computing draws on the methodologies of both science and engineering. Theoretical work has done much to advance the state of the art. At the same time, computing does not separate the discovery of new scientific knowledge from the application of that knowledge to solve practical problems. The intimate relationship between theory and practice endows the discipline with much of its strength and vitality. This same connection between theory and practice, however, also means that the body of knowledge associated with computing changes very quickly as technology evolves.

INDEX TERMS

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

Additional Classification:
  J. Computer Applications
  J.1 ADMINISTRATIVE DATA PROCESSING
      Subjects: Education

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors, Management, Performance, Theory