ABSTRACT

Teaching can be intimidating for beginning faculty. Some graduate schools and some computing faculty provide guidance and mentoring, but many do not. Often, a new faculty member is assigned to teach a course, with little guidance, input, or feedback. Teaching Computing: A Practitioner’s Perspective addresses such challenges by providing a solid resource for both new and experienced computing faculty. The book serves as a practical, easy-to-use resource, covering a wide range of topics in a collection of focused down-to-earth chapters.

Based on the authors’ extensive teaching experience and his teaching-oriented columns that span 20 years, and informed by computing-education research, the book provides numerous elements that are designed to connect with teaching practitioners, including:

  • A wide range of teaching topics and basic elements of teaching, including tips and techniques
  • Practical tone; the book serves as a down-to-earth practitioners’ guide
  • Short, focused chapters
  • Coherent and convenient organization
  • Mix of general educational perspectives and computing-specific elements
  • Connections between teaching in general and teaching computing
  • Both historical and contemporary perspectives

This book presents practical approaches, tips, and techniques that provide a strong starting place for new computing faculty and perspectives for reflection by seasoned faculty wishing to freshen their own teaching.

 

part 1|12 pages

Introduction

part 2|36 pages

Curricular Development

part 3|50 pages

Courses and the Computing Curricula in Context

part 4|30 pages

Curricular Issues

chapter 13|7 pages

Staying connected with the big picture

chapter 15|4 pages

Guided reading and seminar issues

chapter 17|4 pages

College courses of varying credit

part 5|32 pages

Computing and Mathematics

part 7|46 pages

Preparing a Course

part 8|45 pages

Instructors’ Roles, Inside and Outside the Classroom

part 9|44 pages

Exercises and Assignments

part 10|24 pages

tudent Progress in Courses

chapter 51|6 pages

Structuring student work

chapter 52|4 pages

Encouraging student preparation for class

chapter 53|4 pages

Mid-course corrections

chapter 54|5 pages

Recovering from disappointing test results

part 11|15 pages

Assessment and Grading

chapter 56|6 pages

Notes on grading

chapter 57|4 pages

Grading and the allocation of points

part 12|31 pages

Outreach and Public Relations

part 13|30 pages

Additional Topics