Computer Science. (Senior Division 2002).
Wang, Yang
Martin, R.A., J.D. Martin. Computer Science Department, Southwest
Missouri State University. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROFILE OF
MISSOURI'S SECONDARY SCHOOLS. The purpose of the study was to gauge
the level of information technology courses being taught in
Missouri's secondary schools. Surveys were mailed to 498 Missouri
high schools in February 2001. Follow-ups were done via e-mail one month
after the surveys were mailed. A total of 321 surveys were returned for
a response rate of 64%. This is an unusually good response rate for a
mail survey and suggests a high degree of interest in information
technology issues. Most schools offered courses in keyboarding and
computer literacy, while few offered AP Intro Computer Science courses.
Nearly half of the schools (45%) indicated that their schools did offer
programming courses. The most widely taught skill was word processing,
followed by electronic spreadsheet and desktop publishing. Ethical
issues were least likely to be taught. Each school was given a
technology score based on the number of courses and skills taught.
Scores ranged from 2 to 15. Significant differences were found by
enrollment and urban/rural status. Among larger schools, 70% had
technology scores of 11 or above, compared to 47% or less for smaller
schools (p<.005). Scores of 11 or above were more likely to be found
in urban schools (59%) than rural schools (44%), p<.01. Virtually all
of the responding schools reported that they offered some information
technology courses. However, the number and type of courses, as well as
the skills taught, varied widely.
Naugler, D. R., Department of Computer Science, Southeast Missouri
Stateb University. FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMMING IN JAVA. In functional
languages such as Scheme or SML functions can be passed as parameters,
can be constructed in other functions and returned as values. This
allows a style of programming that is quite distinct from the that used
with languages such as Pascal, C or C++. Superficially, Java has no
functions; however, using interfaces and the inner classes that have
fairly recently been added to the Java language it is fairly easy to
mimic some of the features of functional programming. Using an interface
for real functions, it is shown how to write functions that take
functions as parameters and construct and return new functions. Both
simple examples (such as creating a function which is the sum of two
functions given as parameters, or creating the composition of two
functions) and more complex examples such as generating a function
representing the a finite number of terms of a Fourier series given the
coefficients, and generating a function which is an approximation to an
indefinite integral of a given function are shown. It is not advocated
that functional programming be taught in Java-languages such as SML are
much superior for that task. Rather, students can use modes of thinking
learned in a study of a functional languages directly in programmes
written in Java.
Naugler, D. R., Department of Computer Science, Southeast Missouri
State University. THE ROLE OF THEORY IN THE UNDERGRADUATE COMPUTER
SCIENCE CURRICULUM. Opinion among computer science teachers on the role
of theory in the undergraduate computer science curriculum differs
widely. Since such teachers may come from highly varied backgrounds and
from distinctly different educational generations, there is not any easy
consensus on what, precisely, theory is, let alone on its role in
undergraduate education. Indeed a given instructor in a given course may
be viewed as too theoretical by one colleague and too
'hands-on" by another. The Computer Science discipline has its
roots in both the mathematical and the engineering sciences; it has
resemblances to both yet is clearly neither one. Many Computer Science
teachers were originally in one or the other of these areas. The notion
of theory and its role in undergraduate Computer Science Education is
explored starting with views expressed by a selection of the
field's founding practitioners, some of whom are still active
teachers. Whatever theory is, its main purpose should be to directly or
indirectly inform practice. It is noted that in a discipline as
relatively new as computer science a divergence of opinion on the role
of theory is to be expected and is probably healthy.
Shade, E. Computer Science Department, Southwest Missouri State
University. LANGUAGES + INTERPRETERS + AUTOMATA + COMPUTABILITY = THEORY
OF COMPUTATION. Computer science programs traditionally include courses
both in programming languages and theory of computation. Theory of
computation is important, but it is normally taught using a
theorem/proof approach, and in my experience this causes many students
to miss the point. I prefer a more applied approach where the theory is
used to build useful programs. Programming languages are important, but
it is not clear that we need an entire course devoted to the subject,
especially since popular languages like C++ and Java already contain
virtually all the imperative features typically covered in such a
course. What remains is alternative programming paradigms like
functional and logic programming, and material related to the
implementation of programming languages. But I use a functional language
in theory of computation, and many of the applications are interpreter s for small languages. Because of this overlap, I propose replacing these
two three-hour courses with a single four-hour course. It will be a
better course and will free up space in the curriculum.
Wang, Y. Department of Computer Science, Southwest Missouri State
University. A COMPARISON OF EASTERN AND WESTERN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES.
Statistics have shown that American students at many levels do not do as
well on tests of mathematical and scientific achievement as some of
their foreign counterparts, most notably in Asia. Their former superior
position on practical problem solving abilities seems to be slipping
gradually also. This situation has caught the attention of many
educators from the elementary level to the university. In order to
provide students the best education possible and to continuously improve
the quality of the education system in the United States, it is
necessary to find the strengths and the weaknesses of the system,
compared with other education systems. In this paper, the author, who
has taught in universities in both China and the United States for a
number of years, compares the educational experiences with these two
different education systems. Some major differences in the We stern and
Eastern educational philosophies, such as emphasizing theoretic subjects
vs. practical subjects, are discussed. Other less well-known differences
in the training and facilitation processes of teachers of higher
education are pointed out. Variations in the teaching practices of the
two countries are also mentioned.
