COMP SCI 7202 - Foundations of Computer Science
North Terrace Campus - Semester 1 - 2018
-
General Course Information
Course Details
Course Code COMP SCI 7202 Course Foundations of Computer Science Coordinating Unit Computer Science Term Semester 1 Level Postgraduate Coursework Location/s North Terrace Campus Units 6 Contact Up to 10 hours per week Available for Study Abroad and Exchange N Incompatible COMP SCI 7080 Restrictions For approved Master of Computing and Innovation, Graduate Diploma in Computer Science and Graduate Certificate in Computer Science students only. Assessment Written exam and/or assignments Course Staff
Course Coordinator: Ms Alicia Zakarevicius
Lecturers:
Rafael Felix Alves (rafael.felixalves@adelaide.edu.au)
Tao Zhang (tao.zhang01@adelaide.edu.au)Course Timetable
The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.
-
Learning Outcomes
Course Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
1 Design, implement and test algorithms using fundamental programming constructs and data structures. 2 Translate between machine level representations and demonstrate how data is represented in computers. 3 Identify, evaluate and use information sources to support the practice of programming, including APIs, tutorials and documentation. 4 Calculate and compare the runtime complexity of common searching and sorting techniques and their implementations – both iterative and recursive. 5 Identify and apply searching and sorting techniques (linear and binary search, selection, insertion, merge, quick, bucket sorts). 6 Identify and apply basic data structures: linked list, stack, queue, qraph, tree (ordered, binary, balanced). 7 Design, implement and test solutions to problems selecting appropriate data structures and basic algorithmic techiques (brute force, divide and conquer, transform and conquer, greedy).
The above course learning outcomes are aligned with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for the Professional Engineer.
The course is designed to develop the following Elements of Competency: 1.1 1.2 1.5 1.6 2.1 2.2 2.3 3.3
University Graduate Attributes
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:
University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s) Deep discipline knowledge
- informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
- acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
- accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
1-2 Critical thinking and problem solving
- steeped in research methods and rigor
- based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
- demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
1-7 -
Learning Resources
Required Resources
There is no required text. The course will make use of various online resources.Online Learning
In this course, we use an online discussion forum and learning environment available through the course MyUni Canvas page. Through Canvas you will be able to view videos, take online quizzes and access all course content.
This course makes extensive use of on-line learning and it will be very challenging to fully participate or perform at your best unless you regularly access the materials available in the online form. It is your responsibility to regularly check this forum for notices, and to participate in online activities. -
Learning & Teaching Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
This course is taught primarily face to face with active practical work interspersed with short examples and discussions. Students are expected to work on practicals and review course material between face to face sessions.
Computer Science Learning Centre: the learning centre, Level 1, Engineering Maths, provides one on one support for foundation level Computer Science courses. If you are having trouble with your courses, please attend the Learning Centre for assistance, or contact your lecturers.Workload
The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
Students are expected to spend 20-24 hours per six unit course per week. This includes approximately 12 hours of contact time per week and approximately 10-12 hours of independent study time.Learning Activities Summary
- Unix/Subversion basics, introduction to Processing, variables, expressions, operators, basic types.
- Selection and repetition.
- Arrays, multi-dimensional arrays, functions.
- Introduction to Java, debugging.
- Introduction to object oriented programming, classes, objects, interfaces.
- Inheritance, polymorphism.
- Recursion, algorithm complexity.
- Sorting algorithms.
- Searching algorithms, complexity.
- Data structures, stacks, queues.
- Data structures, trees, graphs.
-
Assessment
The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:
- Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
- Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
- Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
- Assessment must maintain academic standards.
Assessment Summary
* During practicals, you are encouraged to collaborate with your classmates. This extends to discussing ideas, alternatives, possible solutions and questions about material discussed in class. It does not permit copying of code from classmates. All code you submit must be your own.Assessments Assessment Task Task Type To Be Scheduled During Weighting Learning Outcome Practicals* Formative Face to face teaching. 20% 1,3,5,6,7 Theory Quizzes Summative Face to face teaching. 10% 2,3,4,5,6 Practical Exams Summative Face to face teaching. 10% 1,3,5,6,7 Final Theory Quiz Summative Penultimate class time. 30% 2,3,4,5,6 Final Practical Exam Summative Final class time. 30% 1,3,5,6,7 Total 100%
Theory quizzes and practical exams are individual and you must not consult classmates in developing your solutions.Assessment Related Requirements
Students must achieve a minimum of 40% of the available marks in the Final Theory Quiz and a minimum of 40% of the available marks in the Final Practical Exam. If a student has a final mark for the course greater than 44 F but, fails to achieve both of these requirements, the final mark for the course will be reduced to 44 F.Assessment Detail
Assessment: Practicals*
- Weighting: 20%
- Due Dates: please note schedule on course website. Some practicals will be undertaken during class time but some may be completed outside class times.
- Submission Details: Submit using the School of Computer Science Web Submission System.
- Task: Design, test and implement solutions to programming problems.
- Scope: These assess your understanding of the course material covered during prior classes.
- Criteria by which your assignment will be marked: design, functionality, testing and program style.
- Learning objectives: 1,3,5,6,7
- Weighting: 10%
- Due Dates: please note schedule on course website. Theory quizzes will be held during class time.
- Submission Details: Online Quiz.
- Task: Design, test and implement solutions to the practical problems.
- Scope: These cover all topics up to the time of the quiz.
- Criteria by which your assignment will be marked: Correctness of answers.
- Learning objectives: 2,3,4,5,6
- Weighting: 10%
- Due Dates: please note schedule on course website. Practical exams will be held during class time.
- Submission Details: Submit using the School of Computer Science Web Submission System.
- Task: Design, test and implement solutions to programming problems.
- Scope: These cover all topics up to the time of the practical exam.
- Criteria by which your assignment will be marked: design, functionality, testing and program style.
- Learning objectives: 1,3,5,6,7
- Weighting: 30%
- Due Dates: The final theory exam will be scheduled during the penultimate class time.
- Submission Details: Online Quiz
- Task: The theory exam assesses students depth of knowledge of programming constructs in general, tradeoffs of memory and cpu use in algorithms and data representation.
- Scope: 60 minute online quiz. Covers material from all of the course.
- Criteria by which your assignment will be marked: Correctness of answers.
- Learning objectives: 2,3,4,5,6
- Weighting: 30%
- Due Dates: The final practical exam will be scheduled during the final class time.
- Submission Details: Submit using the School of Computer Science Web Submission System.
- Task: Design, test and implement solutions to programming problems.
- Scope: 60 minute practical exam. Covers material from all of the course.
- Criteria by which your assignment will be marked: design, functionality, testing and program style.
- Learning objectives: 1,3,5,6,7
* During practicals, you are encouraged to collaborate with your classmates. This extends to discussing ideas, alternatives, possible solutions and questions about material discussed in class. It does not permit copying of code from classmates. All code you submit must be your own.
^Theory quizzes and practical exams are individual and you must not consult classmates in developing your solutions.Submission
Programming Assignment Submission
All programming practicals must be submitted using the School of Computer Science Web Submission System. Programming assignments must not be emailed to the lecturer. If you are unable to submit a programming assignment, ask for help.
Note: programming assignments may be processed using external online plagiarism detection tools.
Backup Copy of Programming Assignments
All programming assignments must be stored in your SVN repository. Failure to use the repository and any subsequent loss of work will not be grounds for an extension.
Late Penalties
Failure to submit a programming assignment on time or by the agreed extension deadline will result in penalties. For each day or part-day that a programming assignment is late, the maximum mark that can be awarded is reduced by 25%. The following table shows effect of the capping for different levels of marks:Late Penalties - Programming Practicals On time Mark One Day Late Two Days Late Three Days Late Four Days Late 100 75 50 25 0 75 75 50 25 0 50 50 50 25 0 25 25 25 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 Extensions
Any request for an extension of time for the submission of a programming assignment should be made well before the due date to the Course Coordinator. Normally, extensions will only be granted for a maximum of two weeks from the original assignment submission date. Extensions will only be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances and evidence, such as a medical certificate, must be provided.
Theory Quizzes and Practical Exams
If you are unable to take a theory quiz or attend a practical exam, you must contact the course coordinator as soon as practicable. If appropriate evidence can be provided, such as a medical certificate, alternative arrangements may be considered.Course Grading
Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:
M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme) Grade Mark Description FNS Fail No Submission F 1-49 Fail P 50-64 Pass C 65-74 Credit D 75-84 Distinction HD 85-100 High Distinction CN Continuing NFE No Formal Examination RP Result Pending Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.
Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.
Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.
-
Student Feedback
The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.
SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
-
Student Support
- Academic Integrity for Students
- Academic Support with Maths
- Academic Support with writing and study skills
- Careers Services
- International Student Support
- Library Services for Students
- LinkedIn Learning
- Student Life Counselling Support - Personal counselling for issues affecting study
- Students with a Disability - Alternative academic arrangements
- YouX Student Care - Advocacy, confidential counselling, welfare support and advice
-
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
- Academic Credit Arrangements Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progress by Coursework Students Policy
- Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy
- Copyright Compliance Policy
- Coursework Academic Programs Policy
- Elder Conservatorium of Music Noise Management Plan
- Intellectual Property Policy
- IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy
- Modified Arrangements for Coursework Assessment Policy
- Reasonable Adjustments to Learning, Teaching & Assessment for Students with a Disability Policy
- Student Experience of Learning and Teaching Policy
- Student Grievance Resolution Process
-
Fraud Awareness
Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.
The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.