The anatomy of a project oriented second course for computer science majors

Abstract

This paper describes the philosophy and design of a specific course, Computer Science 236, taught over the past few years at Washington University. The philosophy of the course is that the objectives of the course can best be achieved by employing a series of associated projects which are complex enough to require a design and specification effort but are not so large that they cannot be completed in one semester. Several other institutions have also found that a project oriented course is advantageous. The purpose of this paper is to describe the philosophy and methodology of such a course and not to describe the specific course at Washington University. However, in describing the generic course, those decisions made for Computer Science 236 will be presented as examples.