I teach AP computer science and a course I call Creative Computing that uses Python as the tool for exploring computing (see http://garfieldcs.com for full course descriptions and daily activities).
Java does have some ugly syntax but overall I love teaching the AP course. I aim to make my students into curious people with great problem-solving skills and I hardly ever mention the AP test itself. Though the test is heavily object-oriented, I teach procedural-style Java first since I think strong mental models of computation are what will benefit the majority of my students as they move on to whatever it is they will be doing. When I do introduce OO, students see it as a useful form of abstraction and see the need for it as their programs had been getting unwieldy. Despite only covering object-oriented programming in the tail end of my course and using the GridWorld case study for a couple of projects, my students have so far done very well on the AP test (disclaimer: I only had one section of 22 last year and now have about 80 students so we'll see how things go this year). I think it's very possible to focus on producing great thinkers and to see the test just as a validation of that process. This may be an unpopular view around these parts but I feel that the pedagogical philosophy guiding a course is far more important to look at than the language it's taught in. Yes, many AP CS courses seem to take this rote plod-through-the-material-for-the-test approach but I don't think that has anything to do with Java. It would be possible to teach a Python course in just that way, too. All in all, Java and Python are fairly similar tools and shouldn't be treated as ends but just a means to explore computation, I think. Just changing the language of the AP test probably wouldn't change the courses teaching related classes very much is my guess. That is, of course, unless there were a push for great professional development and more continuous support for classroom teachers. Hélène Martin http://helenemartin.com On Sat, Nov 6, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Zac Miller <zmil...@gsc.edu> wrote: > Today I attended a meeting of the Georgia chapter of the Computer Science > Teachers Association. Most of the focus was on how to better teach the AP > Computer Science exam and Java but I did learn a few things at the meeting. > Are any of the K12 educators here that are using Python also teaching AP > Computer Science? > > >From speaking with the people at the meeting I got the idea that the AP > >Computer Science test would eventually transition to Python. Does anyone > >know more about this? > > Also, from their descriptions of teaching the AP class it seemed like the is > focus is mainly on preparing for the test...do you think that the AP course > using Python would be a good thing or a bad thing for educators using Python? > I think I prefer keeping my focus on producing great Python programmers > instead of on an exam. > > Interested in any opinions out there. > > -Zac Miller > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Edu-sig mailing list > Edu-sig@python.org > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig > _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
