Course Specification

The current and official versions of the course specifications are available on the web.

CSC1401 Foundation Programming

Overview

In Semester 3, 2023, this course will be delivered as a Transition (9-week) semester, commencing on 13 November 2023 and concluding on 12 January 2024.
Programming is relevant to both computing professionals and individuals who wish to be more than end-users. The topics in the course will allow students to learn programming in Python, but should also develop skills transferrable to other languages, paradigms, and contexts.

Course Details

• Units: 1
• School or Department: School of Mathematics, Physics & Computing
• Grading basis: Graded
• Course fee schedule:

Staffing

• Course Coordinator: Jee Ra

Course Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of the programming language knowledge by comprehending code in existing programs;
2. Apply programming language knowledge to generate programs;
3. Comprehend programming strategies, including working in teams, by analysing programs which demonstrate such strategies;
4. Create solutions to programming problems, within a team, by generating programs which apply programming strategies;
5. Demonstrate problem-solving in the context of programming through designing, debugging, implementing, and testing programs;
6. Demonstrate academic and professional literacy by applying computer and mathematical skills to analyse algorithms and data structures.

Topics

Description	Weighting(%)

1. | Programming Process, Sequence, Ethics | 10.00
2. | Values, Objects, Lists, Operations, Roles of variables | 10.00
3. | Expressions, Using Functions, User I/O and Libraries | 10.00
4. | String Handling | 10.00
5. | Testing, Debugging, Programming Style | 10.00
6. | Selection, Iteration, Recursion | 20.00
7. | Programming Strategies and Problem Solving (Pseudocode, Teamwork Strategies) | 10.00
8. | Writing Functions | 20.00

Text and Materials Required

• Downey, A 2015, Think Python , 2nd edn, O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Student Workload Expectations

To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week, including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks.

Assessment Details

Approach | Type | Description | Group
Assessment | Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes
---|---|---|---|---|---
Assignments | Written | Quiz | No | 10 | 1
Assignments | Practical | Tech and/or scntific artefact 1 | No | 20 | 1,2,5,6
Assignments | Practical | Tech and/or scntific artefact 2 | Yes | 20 | 1,2,3,5,6
Examinations | Non-invigilated | Time limited online examinatn | No | 50 | 1,2,5,6

Acknowledgement

The University of Southern Queensland acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands and waterways where the University is located. Further, we acknowledge the cultural diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and pay respect to Elders past, present, and future.