A cornerstone course for Freshman computer science students

Abstract

Why are we studying this? What area of Computer Science should I concentrate on? Are the really good Computer Scientists all hackers and nerds? To answer questions like these and to attract young people seeking a career that will benefit society, we describe and make a case for, a Freshman seminar course for the Computer Science (CS) major. Just as the Senior seminar is called a capstone course indicating a capping of a student's college experience, we call this Freshman seminar a cornerstone course indicating a solid foundation to build on. The purpose of the course is to provide an overview of CS. This overview forms a framework for students as they go on to study their major courses allowing them to know where they are in the landscape of CS keeping the big picture in mind. Students taking this course are more informed and can steer their way through the maze of elective courses in a more deliberate manner. It also serves as an aid in student advising and begins a process directed from the beginning toward a career goal, giving their education focus and purpose. Our course is meant to complement a Senior capstone course; topics studied in this course are reinforced in the capstone course. Ideally, this course will satisfy a general education requirement so there is no encumbrance to the major (only contribution!) and ours is written so it does just that. We cannot require our majors to take this course, only recommend that they fulfil part of their GE requirements by taking it.