Alfred Thompson asked about PreAP Computer Science on Twitter.
I have been teaching PreAP Computer Science for a long time, I think we started a few years before C++ was on the AP Computer Science Exam.
We spend the first two six weeks making sure that students have a basic understanding of computers and how to use them. I make sure that students know the components of a computer science, can go to a store and figure out what they want to buy and make sure they know how to use all the basic tools, include word processing, spreadsheets, and powerpoint. I also make sure they can use the internet for research.
We also spend time with planning and flowcharting. I have been using Raptor to introduce programming for several years now. Then we move onto the AP language. I like to get through basic file handling and through arrays as those are the two topics that seem to make or break programming students.
Leave a Reply