Designing an Introductory Programming Course to Improve Non-Majors' Experiences

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Abstract

Demand for computing courses from students in disciplines outside of Computer Science is growing. This growth has created increasing challenges in offering one-size-fits-all CS1 courses. We found that non-CS majors' experiences and outcomes in our existing CS1 course were worse than those of intended CS majors. In response, we developed an introductory programming course, CS0.5, aimed at meeting the needs of the diverse population of non-CS major students interested in our courses. In this paper, we present the motivation, curriculum design, and evidence of effectiveness for this new course. We describe the specific design decisions we made in response to the experiences of non-CS majors in CS1. We also demonstrate that students' outcomes in CS0.5--measured in terms of students' pass rates, satisfaction, and attitudes--all not only improve compared to non-CS majors in CS1, but also largely match those of CS majors in CS1. Finally, we present student feedback, gathered through surveys and Appreciative Inquiry focus groups, that illustrates how our curriculum design choices better meet our non-major students' needs. The most-valued course design elements, as identified by focus group participants, provide insight for other CS educators who are designing similar courses.

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