SCMP 118.01 Introduction to Programming S21

Noah Aydin

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Spring 2021
Section 1: Tuesday, Thursday 9:40-11:00

Office hours:

Course Overview

This course presents an introduction to computer programming intended both for those who plan to take further courses in which a strong background in computation is desirable and for those who are interested in learning basic programming principles. The course will expose the student to a variety of applications where an algorithmic approach is natural and will include both numerical and non-numerical computation. The principles of program structure and style will be emphasized. The course teaches both Python and C++ programming. Offered every semester. Offered every semester.

An introduction to computer science and computing systems
An introduction to algorithm development and problem solving
An introduction to programming with Python
An introduction to C++
Two daily classes Tuesday/Thursday at 9:40-11:00 am
POGIL group activities during many classes
Regular individual lab assignments
Computer history essays weekly

Course Objectives

Provide an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems.
Give students an overall perspective on the breadth of computer science as a discipline
Become proficient in the Python and C++ programming languages
Help students feel confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals.
Position students so that they can compete for research projects and excel in subjects with programming components.

Texts

How To Think Like A Computer Scientist: Interactive edition (KenyonScmp118Sp21Aydin) (Python): link(Free online text). You need to register for a free account, and join the class.
C++ for Python Programmers (KenyonCPPF20) (C++). link
Think Python 3 (TP) – free download: link (Free PDF)

Texts 1 & 2 must be access online through a registered account on https://runestone.academy/. Create an account using your name and kenyon email address, and then register for BOTH texts. This will require signing up with one, then adding the second.

You can add the C++ for Python Programmers (KenyonCPPF20) book to your account by logging in to https://runestone.academy/runestone/default/courses, and then clicking on the “Enroll in a course” button on the bottom. Put in “KenyonCPPF20” for the course name, and hit “Apply changes”.

Methodology

This course uses a variety of learning strategies in order to both enrich and enhance learning for every student of every background, as well as to keep the course interesting. Methods include:

Group (collaborative) activities:
- POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning). Discussed below, this is a team oriented, discovery based approach to learning with small groups of students. Teams report back to the whole classroom and share their discoveries.
- In class small group programming. This is to allow learners to explore and solve a problem as a small group, such that each student engages with the material and each other, experimenting, teaching, and learning together.
Individual activities:
- Laboratory assignments. These programming assignments give each learner the opportunity to develop skill, experience, and confidence as programmers as individuals.
- Programming problem solving. These small guided exercises, based on the repl.it online programming platform, provide small problems for the learners to gain experience programming with, and are automatically checked by the environment to give immediate feedback to the learner.
- Homework Assignments. These activities, based on readings, give each student familiarity with important course concepts outside of class.
- History essays – these small writing assignments, about one a week, give each learning the change to explore computer science in its larger historical context. These are shared in class on they day they are due.
Instructional Presentation and discussion. Occasionally the instructor with give a presentation related to the course topics. These will normally include discussion, and sometime be interleaved with in-class hands on programming activities.
Exams. Given at midterm and as a final, these assess the students mastery of the concepts learning in class.

Course Attendance

Given the methods of instruction, especially the group work and the hands on work, attendance online is essential. Students are expected to attend all classes until they are ill or involved in official collegiate sporting activities. In the case of any absence students are expected to contact the instructor prior to the absence. In the case of such excuses absences the student will normally be assigned work to compensate for the misses class activities. Up to 3 unexcused absences will be allowed, with a 2% overall grade reduction for each. The instructor reserves to right to dis-enroll any student with more than three absences.

Python 3 and C++

In this course we will be learning the Python 3 and C++ programming langauges. We will be using and online programming environment repl.it. This allows you to program anywhere with any device (including smartphones and tablets!), while maintaining access to all your current and previous work.

You can also install Anaconda Python and an IDE (Intregrated Development Environment) call Spyder by following these instructions: PythonInstall

POGIL

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a pedagogy that is based on research on how people learn and has been shown to lead to better student outcomes in many contexts and in a variety of academic disciplines. Beyond facilitating students’ mastery of a discipline, it promotes vital educational outcomes such as communication skills and critical thinking. Its active international community of practitioners provides accessible educational development and support for anyone developing related courses.

We will be learning about POGIL early in the class, and using this method on a daily basis.

Each activity is a link to a Google Doc. You must be logged into your Kenyon account to access. One member of the team will open the link, and make a copy in the same directory with your team name (color). The team will then work together to document the process on that document.

Useful POGIL links

POGIL ROLES:

Spokesperson
Process Analyst
Facilitator
Quality Control

On teams of less then four students some will have 2 roles

POGIL Process Analyst Report – The Process Analyst completes this after every activity

POGIL Feedback – complete this after every activity

POGIL Process Skills

Online resourses

This course uses several online tools for learning and assessing student progress. All of these resources are free of cost but some require the creation of a login account. It is essential that everyone participaite in the associated activities as all are part of the learning process, and some are graded activities.

How To Think Like A Computer Scientist: Interactive edition (KenyonPythonF20) This is an interactive book. You must register, and complete the exercises in the assigned readings. Follow this link and register using your Kenyon email.. Use “KenyonPythonF20” as the course name. You will be assigned problems in this book. You should complete the work, and copy and paste ALL the final code for each assignment into a single file, and turn it in on Moodle for credit.
C++ for Python Programmers (KenyonCPPF20) This is an interactive book. (PDF version) You must register, and complete the exercises in the assigned readings. Follow this link and register using your Kenyon email.. Use “KenyonCPPF20” as the course name. You will be assigned problems in this book. You should complete the work, and copy and paste ALL the final code for each assignment into a single file, and turn it in on Moodle for credit.
SCMP11801F2020 – This is an environment for learning Python that is based on repl.it. Regular Python exercises will be assigned as graded homework from this environment. Follow the link and create an account. Select Kenyon College as your college. The you should see the class. You must sign up for the course, using your Kenyon Email address, here: Repl.it course link. For your assignments here you need to merely complete the problems and submit them by the due date. I will sent you an invitation in email for this course.
SCMP118C++F2020 – This is an environment for learning C++ that is based on repl.it. Regular C++ exercises will be assigned as graded homework from this environment. You can add the C++ for Python Programmers (KenyonCPPF20) book to your account by logging in to https://runestone.academy/runestone/default/courses, and then clicking on the “Enroll in a course” button on the bottom. Put in “KenyonCPPF20” for the course name, and hit “Apply changes”.
Note on notifications: Everytime I assign a problem you will get a notification from repl.it. (And there will be over 100) I can’t stop the notifications, but you can. Just log into repl.it. Then click on your username in the upper right, and select account. If you scroll down to the bottom, you can open up the “Email Settings” section, and un-select the checkbox for “Receive email notifications”.

Assignments

Due Date: All assignments are due as specified in the grading table below.

Missing Lab Assignments: Labs are an important part of this class; the effort spent on them is a crucial part of the learning process. Failure to submit labs is unacceptable: students earning 0s on two labs cannot receive a grade higher than a B- for the course; students earning three 0s on labs will receive an automatic F for the course.

Collaboration and Academic Honesty: In order to facilitate learning, students are encouraged to discuss assignments amongst themselves. Copying a solution is not, however, the same as “discussing.” A good rule of thumb is the “cup of coffee” rule. After discussing a problem, you should not take away any written record or notes of the discussion. Go have a cup of coffee or cocoa, and read the front page of the newspaper. If you can still re-create the problem solution afterward from memory, then you have learned something, and are not simply copying. (The assignments that are designated as “group work” are exempt from this, as they are intended to be done together.)

Academic Honesty and using code you did not write: Turing in code you did not write is cheating.

You should never receive code from other students, use code from the internet, or use instructor solutions from past semesters. Any code you submit must be written entirely by you. (See the “cup of coffee” rule under collaboration.)
Likewise, “facilitating academic dishonesty” is a violation of academic honesty. Thus sharing your code with other students is also forbidden.
The instructor has tools for checking the similarity of code, and will use them periodically to see if students code is too similar to be explained by coincidence.
If you suspect someone has used your code, you should report it.

Academic Honesty and use of Repl.it: By default all programs you create on repl.it are public. That means anyone who can guess your username can then look at your code. This is cheating, and is not allowed for any non-colaborative assignments. You should ALWAYS set your programs to “Private” so that no one else can see them. If you leave your code public, and someone finds it and uses it, it will be flagged as a possible infraction, and you may find yourself in the difficult situation of having to explain what happened to the AIB. So please keep your work private!

Computer History Assignments: Once a week you will turn in a brief essay on some computer history fact from the Computer History Museum ( Timeline) (or other computer history source). One or two people people will be chosen each week to oraly describe what they found in 2 minutes at the beginning of class. I will ask for volunteers, but will cycle through everyone before I repeat anyone. The idea is give to us all an opportunity to explore the history of computer science, and to find something that interests each of us. Start by going to the computer history timeline, and for each assignment explore the requested years until you find something interesting. Then write up a 200-300 word essay about what you found, what you found compelling, and why you think it is significant. Write the essay in Moodle, and include a link to the item you found so it can be displayed while you share in class. These are due midnight before the day they will be presented (and appear in the calendar below). Late submissions will not be accepted on these assignments.

Grading

Category	%	Collaboration allowed?	Notes
History Essays	10%	No	Due by class time on day assigned. Not accepted Late
POGIL Activities	10%	Yes
Individual Labs	40%	No	Due by midnight on day due. 5% penalty for for up to 12 hours late. One assignment may be up to 24 hours late with no penalty with instructor notification.
Homework Assignments	15%	No	Due by class on the day due. One assignment may be up to 24 hours late with no penalty with instructor notification. This includes questions in the interactive text ( How to think like a Computer Scientist: Interactive edition) and the assigned exercises in repl.it. ALso includes questions from the other texts.
repl.it Problems	15%	No	These are problems within the repl.it course. These are autograded by the system, and you have as many tried as you need. Due by midnight on day due.
Quizzes	10%	No	A quiz at the beginning of each class. The quiz opens 10 minutes before class, and you are encouraged to finish the quiz prior to class starting. You must finish the quiz in the first 5 minutes of the class, and you have 5 minutes total to do the quiz. You cannot make up quizzes. Each quiz is on the content from the previous class.
TOTAL	100%

Schedule

Date	Topics	Reading	Notes/Activities	Slides & Video	Assignments Due
Feb 2	Introduction to Computer Science and course, Introduction to POGIL Text Book.		Student Information Form POGIL Role Wheel POGIL Roles POGILQualityIndicators POGIL Process Analyst Report POGIL Activity 1 POGIL Feedback	Day 1 Video PW: *M1Usr^9	Create Accounts: How to think like a Computer Scientist
Feb 4	Programs, languages, simple programming Introduction to algorithms History AssignmentsFirst Python Program	Python Chapter 1	Quiz 1 POGIL Introduction Python repl.it – link	Student Information Form Create Accounts:Repl.it
Feb 9	Input and Variables Variables, data types, names, keywords, statements and expressions, operators and operands	Python Chapter 2.1-2.7	Quiz 2 POGIL Input and Variables POGIL – Arithmetic Operations and Assignment Statements	Intro Python	1930s
Feb 11	Python Work Algorithms	Python Chapter 2.8-2.11	Quiz 3 Fun with candy bars	Algorithms Video
Feb 16	Formatting Data	Python Chapter 3.1-3.6	Quiz 4 POGIL – Formatting Output Debugging		Python Ch 2.13 Ex 1-6 Fun with Candy Bars 1940-1944
Feb 18	Decision Making in Python	Python Chapter 7.1-7.3	Quiz 5 POGIL – Boolean Expressions In Class Exercises (2.1-2.C)	Video Part 1, Part 2 *	Repl.it:1.1-1.7
Feb 23	Selection in Python	Python Chapter 7.4-7.5	Quiz 6 POGIL – If then else	Selection	1945-1949 Repl.it:2.1-2.7
Feb 25	Looping in Python	Python Chapter 8.1-3	Quiz 7 POGIL – While Loops POGIL FOR Loops	Loops and Interation Class Video	Feedback Form
Mar 2	No Classes
Mar 4	Nested Selection, Strings	Python Chapter 7.6-7.8, 9.1-9.9	Quiz 8 POGIL Nested If-else statements Computing Loan Payoff	Selection Class Video	1950-1954 Repl.it:2.8-2.C
Mar 9	Python Turtle Graphics, Strings	Python Chapter 4.1-4.6, 9.10-9.19	POGIL – Turtles Turtle Fun	Turtles Choose Random Color	Lab 1 – Payroll Repl.it 3.1-3.9 Loan Payoff
Mar 11	Built in and Void Functions	Python Chapter 5.1-4, Chapter 6.1-6.5	Quiz 10 POGIL Built-In Functions POGIL Void Functions	Functions	1955-1959 Repl.it 5.1-5.7, 3.A-3.O,
Mar 16	Functions, local variables, parameters	Python Chapter 6.6-6.10	Quiz 11 POGIL Functions Returning Values	Strings	Repl.it 5.8-5.C Python 4.11 Ex 1,2,5,6,9
Mar 18	Nested Loops, Strings	Python Chapter 8.1-3 Chapter 9.1-13	Quiz 12 POGIL Nested Loops	Strings	Lab 2 – Turtle Drawing 1960-1964 Python Ch 7.10 Ex 1,2,3,6,7,8,9 Repl.it 4.1-4.A
Mar 23	Reading Files	Python Chapter 11.1-11.5	Quiz 13 POGIL Reading Files Emily Dickinson Experiment	Reading Files	Python Ch 6.13 Ex 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10
Mar 25	Writing Files	Python Chapter 11.6.11.7	Quiz 14 POGIL Writing Files Emily Dickinson Experiment		Lab 3 – Bouncing Balls Python Ch 5.6: 15, 17, 18, 19 1965-1969 Repl.it 6.1-6.A
Mar 30	Lists, Passing lists	Python Chapter 10.1-10.5	Quiz 15 POGIL – Lists	Lists and Tuples Lists	1970-1974 Python Ch 9 Ex 1-12
Apr 1	Lists and Strings	Python Chapter 10.6-10.20	Quiz 16 POGIL – More Lists and Strings	Strings	Python Ch 11.9 Ex 1-5
Apr 6	Dictionary	Python Chapter 12.1-12.5	Quiz 17 POGIL Dictionary Exercises	Dictionaries Comprehension	Lab 4 Word Game 1975-1979
Apr 8	Dictionary	Python Chapter 12.1-12.5	Dictionary Activity	Dictionaries Class Video	Python Ch 10 EX 1,2,3 Repl.it 7.1-7.D
Apr 13	Python Classes	Python Chapter 17.1-17.6	Quiz 18	Classes and Objects Class Video
Apr 15	Python Classes	Python Chapter 17.7-17.9	POGIL Classes Model 1 Code Model 2 Code Model 3 Code	Classes and Objects	Lab 5 Word Analysis 1980-1984 Python Ch 10 Ex 4,5,6,7,8,11,12
Apr 20	Python Classes		Quiz 19	Classes Example Class Video Morning Class Video Afternoon	Python Ch 12 Ex 1,2,3,4,5 Repl.it 8.1-8.7
Apr 22	Introduction to C++, First program	CPP Chapter 1		C++ Intro Class Video	1985-1990 Repl.it A.1-A.8 CPP Ch 1.6, 1.8
Apr 27	C++ Data types, control structures	CPP Chapter 2, 3	C++ POGIL Intro		Lab 6 – Word Classes CPP Ch 2.7, 2.8 Repl.it CPP 1-7
Apr 29	C++ Arrays, Functions	CPP Chapter 4, 5.1-5.3	Quiz 20 C++ POGIL Vectors and Arrays	Slide	Lab 7 – Payroll 1990-1994 CPP Ch 3.4,3.7,4.7 Matching Repl.it CPP 8-17
May 4	C++ Data collections, Standard Template Library	CPP Chapter 4	C++ POGIL Functions C++ Classes		Repl.it CPP 18-21
May 6	C++ Classes	CPP 5.4-5.5	POGIL C++ Files EmilyDickenson	Objects Video	LAB 8 – Word Game 1995-1999 Repl.it CPP 22-26
May 11		CPP 6.1-6.6	POGIL C++ STL		Repl.it CPP 27-35
	Final Demos

Non Discrimination Statement

Kenyon College does not discriminate in its educational programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy or state, local, or federal law. The requirement of non-discrimination in educational programs and activities extends to employment and admission.

All employees, including faculty, are considered Responsible Employees and must notify the College’s Civil Rights & Title IX Coordinator with any relevant information.

For further information, please refer to the following Kenyon College policies:

Sexual Misconduct & Harassment: Title IX, VAWA, Title VII:
https://www.kenyon.edu/directories/offices-services/ocr/title-ix-vawa/kenyon-policies/title-ix-policy/

Discrimination & Discriminatory Harassment Policy (non sex or gender):
https://www.kenyon.edu/directories/offices-services/ocr/discrimination/

ADA & Section 504:
https://www.kenyon.edu/directories/offices-services/ocr/discrimination/504-ada-grievance/student-grievance-procedure-resolving-complaints-under-ada-section-504/

Disabilities

If you have any disability and therefore may have need for some type of accommodation in order to participate fully in this class, please feel free to discuss your concerns in private with Erin Salva, director of Student Accessibility and Support Services (SASS). (phone: (740) 427-5453).

Statement on Title IX