1 / 9

Whad’Ya Know?

Discover the key concepts, skills, and outcomes in computation that are vital for a well-rounded education. Explore algorithmic problem-solving and the application of standard algorithmic paradigms. No course is necessary, but everyone should have a basic understanding of computation.

peteracosta
Download Presentation

Whad’Ya Know?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. or Whad’Ya Know? Mike Goldweber Xavier Univ. John Barr Ithaca College • What Should We All Know about Computation? Steve Cooper Purdue Univ. Henry Walker Grinnell College

  2. What Would Your One Course Be? • What learning outcomes are most desired? • What competencies or technical skills should be mandatory? • What should any liberally (college) educated person know about computation?

  3. Motivation • “Computing as Social Science,” M. Buckley (April ’09 CACM) • “Teaching Computing to Everyone,” M. Guzdial (May ’09 CACM) • “Beyond Computational Thinking,” P. Denning (June ’09 CACM) • “Are We Losing Our Ability to Think Critically,” S. Greengard (July ’09 CACM) • “Why Computer Science Doesn’t Matter,” M. Felleisen & S. Krishnamurthi (July ’09 CACM)

  4. Audiences of Concern • Computer Scientists - our majors • “Hybrid Professionals” - our minors/double majors. • “...combine computing with other fields will increasingly be the new American jobs of the future.” - NYTimes (2/20/09) • Everyone else: - non majors • “A solid grounding in computing, experts say, promises rewards well beyond computer science. Most new jobs in the modern economy will be heavily influenced by technology.” - Robert Reich

  5. Boundary Conditions • No course is necessary - there is nothing about computation everyone needs to know. • All should at least minor in CS.

  6. Deep Intellectual Contributions • Algorithmic Problem Solving - Algorithmics • Harnessing abstraction to manage complexity • The automation of an algorithmic solution

  7. Algorithmics • Algorithmic Problem Solving • ** An Algorithmic CS-Unplugged**

  8. Brute Force algorithms • Greedy algorithms • Divide and Conquer algorithms • Dynamic programming algorithms • Problem reduction techniques • Recognition and handling of “hard” problems

  9. Just as a liberally educated person should be versed in how a mathematician determines truth/solves problems (conjecture and proof), or how scientists do the same (reproducible experiments informed via the scientific method, she should be versed in how computer scientists do the same: Application of problem reduction and/or the use of standard algorithmic paradigms.

More Related