BSc Computer Science with an Integrated Foundation Year / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Foundation in Computer Science-Computational Thinking

Course unit fact file
Unit code COMP11012
Credit rating 10
Unit level Level 1
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

The unit aims to introduce students to Computational Thinking: the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer — human or machine — can effectively carry out.

Aims

The unit aims to introduce students to Computational Thinking: the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer — human or machine — can effectively carry out.

Learning outcomes

 

On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to:                Developed Assessed

ILO 1 Decompose a problem into a series of ordered steps Yes Yes
ILO 2 Apply techniques such as decomposition, abstraction and generalisation to problems  Yes Yes
ILO 3 Describe computational complexity in an informal way Yes Yes
ILO 4 Explain how self-referential problems relate to the limits of computation.  Yes Yes
 

Teaching and learning methods

Weekly one hour lectures introducing key concepts and topics. These will be accompanied by online materials (video, podcasts) for self-study. 
 
Six workshops will target problems and exercises to be completed in groups with GTA support. Workshops will be supported by online materials, discussion boards and fora. 
 
Practical assignments will be largely group work. A proportion of the assessment credit will be based on individual contributions to the group and engagement in online discussion. 
 
The final exam will be online. 
 

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Other 10%
Written exam 50%
Practical skills assessment 40%

Recommended reading

Algorithmics: The spirit of computing. David Harel and Yishai Feldman (Springer), 1987.

 

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.  Douglas R. Hofstadter. (Basic Books) 1999.

The power of computational thinking : games, magic and puzzles to help you become a computational thinker. Paul Curzon and Peter McOwan. World Scientific Publishing, 2017.

 

For Information and advice on Link2Lists reading list software, see: 

http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/academicsupport/informationandadviceonlink2listsreadinglistsoftware/

 

 

 

 

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Assessment written exam 2
Lectures 10
Practical classes & workshops 12
Independent study hours
Independent study 76

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Sean Bechhofer Unit coordinator
Uli Sattler Unit coordinator
Andrea Schalk Unit coordinator

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