A case for course capstone projects in CS1
Saquib Razak · 2013
Research shows that domain mastery requires three phases: acquiring core component skills, practicing integrating these skills, and then applying these skills to solve real-world problems. Although achieving domain mastery is the overall goal of the Computer Science (CS) curriculum, I will make the case that it is important to expose students to all three phases of learning in the first programming course. Having a mini-capstone project on a relevant problem gives the students the deep understanding of why these core components are needed and how they integrate as the students are learning them. In the process, working with a real application excites the students about computer science and can provide them with the confidence to engage in more challenging projects. This paper reports on an experiment where students implement a vehicle license plate number recognition project. Initial results from this experiment indicate that students who worked on the project perform better in the course learning objectives.