Teaching computer programming courses in a computer laboratory environment

Abstract

The usual approach in teaching introductory computer-programming courses is to have a classroom lecture component and a supervised laboratory module, where students will write simple programs reflective of the material that they have learned during the lecture. Although this method may work very well for some subjects, it may not be the best way to teach introductory computer courses. This work describes our new approach in teaching undergraduate computer programming courses in a computer laboratory environment at the Delaware County Campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It consists of putting typed lecture notes, and example programs in our local computer network and conducting the class lectures in the computer laboratory. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of conducting a computer programming course in the form that was described before, covering instructor's comments and students' reactions, as well as possible improvements.