Scientific investigation in a breadth-first approach to introductory computer science
Thomas K. Moore · ACM SIGCSE Bulletin · 1993
Two introductorycourses are presented that cultivate students' critical thinking skills by presenting computer science as a field of applied scientific investigation.Unlike laboratory-based introductory level courses that follow the Denning Report's therm-y paradigm, our introductory courses, consistent with the abstraction paradigm, are rooted in the experimental scientific method.The courses are designed to work at several cognitive levels, moving through application, analysis, and synthesis in each covered topic of computer science.By presenting computer science as a field of scientific investigation, we expect to achieve three important results: 1) to sharpen students' abilities to think critically, 2) to attract more high-quality students to computer science, and 3) to establish a broad, theoretically sound foundation for further course work in computer science.Our approach is presented in theory and supported with the demonstration of a specific sequence of laboratory investigations in the area of artificial intelligence.