Upper School Curriculum

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Fall, Spring

PREREQ: Algebra I

This course is a one-semester course designed to help prepare students for enrolling in the CS 500 ADV Data Structures and Algorithms course, or it can serve as an introductory exposure to computer programming and computer science. The course is perfectly suited for students who are either curious about programming or confident in their plan to pursue additional computer science classes at DA or in college. The course places heavy emphasis on the basic fundamentals of programming, including but not limited to: data types, expressions, operators, selection structures, loops, methods and lists. The textbook and most course tools are freely available online. Therefore, it is essential that students have access to the Internet at home to complete assignments. Students will also need to be comfortable with self-directed learning that can and will be frustrating at times. An interest and strength in math is valuable but not mandatory. Students will be required to complete a significant amount of work not only in class, but also on their own to complete the curriculum and all projects on time. Introduction to Programming uses the Python programming language for all phases of instruction.