School of Computer Science BCS accreditation 2021 - 2026

This course is an introduction to programming the fundamental concepts surrounding this.

Assesement : Examination, Individual coursework, Lab work

Students are tasked to design basic algorithms using flowcharts and pseudocode which can then be used to influence their own code

Assesement : Individual coursework, Lab work

We introduce problem solving through timetabled workshops and these principles are also used in coursework 02

Assesement : Individual coursework, Lab work

Design and implement simple Python based programs

Assesement : Individual coursework, Lab work

We teach problem solving skills through a series of workshops

Assesement : Individual coursework, Lab work

All the practical work in labs and coursework are goal driven. The goals are defined in the lab specification and the coursework criteria. In the labs, each week, the students are given a business problem that requires them to apply appropriate problem-solving skills and then to code their solution. Examples include creating encryption and decryption algorithms, design and writing a sudoku problem solving application, word search puzzles, and later in the course explore more advanced goals such as writing applications with animation, object movement and collision detection.

Assesement : The coursework consists of the student having to design and write a text based spell checker application that detects incorrectly spelt words and also makes recommendations of the correct spelling for that word. The second assessment consists of the student needing to problem solve and write a retro game (such as snake).

In the final coursework students are required to design and implement a game which must meet minimum business requirements, for example; the use and manipulation of images and shapes, movement of objects, a simple form of collision detection, various user inputs such as the ability to pause/resume the application as well as other inputs such as codes to make the game easier or more difficult (as well as other aspects you would expect to find in a retro style game). All these components need to be modelled and structured in a fashion that allows the correct representation of systems and the structures.

Assesement : Formative and summative assessment for coursework.

In the first coursework, the students are required to implement various modules to retrieve data (such as text documents), store that data in some structured fashion and then process that data to validate erroneous data.

Assesement : formative and summative assessment for coursework.

Students learn to design systems using flowcharts, pseudo code and the three problem solving constructs. They are also exposed to UML class diagrams when coving the final stage of the course with an introduction to Object Oriented Programming.

Assesement : formative assessment in labs, workshops and coursework; summative assessment in coursework and exam.