Computer Programming

2013-2013

August 6th 2012

Letter to parents and students

Introduction

Hello! My name is Justin Robertson and I am the teacher of computing here at the International School of Manila. I graduated from the University of London with a Master’s degree in Computer Science and worked as a software developer for ten years before entering the teaching profession in 2004. My last position was as Head of IT at the British International School of Istanbul, and prior to that I was Head of IT at The Hall School in London.

In this brief letter I’ve tried to provide a flavour of what to expect from the next year but if you have any questions, at any time, please drop me an email at .

Course Structure

Programming requires not only a rigorous approach to problem-solving, but the ability to translate that approach into a set of totally unambiguous instructions. In this course we will develop conceptualization and analysis skills required in fields such as mathematics, the sciences, economics and business.

Students who join this course bring with them a wide range of experience. Some are total beginners; others know more about computer programming than a beginner could possibly hope to learn in a year’s course. Therefore my approach is to allow students to find their own level, with the proviso that everybody makes a good effort in class.

Here is an idea of what a student entirely new to programming can expect to cover in this course:

  1. Variables and Data Types
  2. Flow of Control
  3. Text Processing
  4. File Input and Output
  5. Arrays
  6. Classes and Objects
  7. Algorithms and Data Structures

More experienced students may, once they’ve proven to me that they are competent, move on to more advanced project work. Last year many students produced their own games using the Greenfoot programming environment.

We will do most of our programming in Java, but the knowledge that students develop during the course will be transferable to other programming languages and applicable outside the sphere of computing.

Expectations

Grade 10 high school students should be well on their way to becoming independent learners. As such, I will expect students to:

·  Take their study seriously

·  Be proactive in their approach

·  Contribute to class discussion

·  Help each other

·  Reflect on their strengths and weaknesses

Equipment

·  No specific equipment is necessary. Laptops are not essential, but students may opt to use them if they want.

Assessment

The overwhelming majority of the assessment in this course will be ungraded. Formative methods such as peer coaching and self-assessment are now well established as the most effective means of teaching and learning, and they will be employed in every lesson. That said, for better or for worse, there remains an appetite for summative assessment – tests, quizzes, etc – and these will be used each semester to generate a course GPA. In addition to these more traditional methods, alternative summative assessments, such as presentations and projects, will also be used. Details will be provided in due course.

Resources

We will use the course blog at retrosnob.wordpress.com. Details of other resources, such as books, software and websites, will be made available through this site. Parents will find that regular visits to the blog will give them the clearest idea of what their sons and daughters are working on in class.