COIT20245 - Introduction to Programming

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit, you will apply computational thinking to develop fundamental algorithms for specified problems and implement them using Python. It is assumed that you have little or no programming experience. You will apply problem-solving techniques such as decomposition and abstraction. You will learn about the parts of a program, including variables, types, control structures and methods. A key aspect of this unit is practical, hands-on development and testing, which you will do in an industry standard Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Anti-requisite: COIT29222 Programming Principles.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 30%
2. Portfolio 30%
3. Examination 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 83.10% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 29.96% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit coordinator reflection.
Feedback
Attendance particularly in lectures has been poor.
Recommendation
Possibly automate attendance recording in large lectures. Contact students with poor attendance and identify them as being at risk.
Action Taken
Students with poor engagement continue to be messaged early in the term.
Source: Unit coordinator reflection.
Feedback
Academic misconduct has been a problem especially collusion.
Recommendation
Continue to educate students on the consequences of academic misconduct. Possibly employ third party software to detect such breaches. With such a large cohort it would be difficult to individualise the various assessment items.
Action Taken
An in-class test was introduced to reduce the prevalence of academic misconduct.
Source: Student feedback.
Feedback
Some students find the unit's advanced level challenging, particularly when Java is used as the primary programming language, which may not align with the interests of all students in future programming pursuits.
Recommendation
Consider introducing Python as the primary teaching tool, as it could provide a more approachable and engaging experience for students navigating the complexities of an introductory unit with advanced content in Java.
Action Taken
Java was replaced with Python.
Source: Student feedback.
Feedback
Students are happy with the teaching staff.
Recommendation
Continue employing experienced and dedicated teaching staff.
Action Taken
We have continued to use experienced and dedicated teaching staff.
Source: Teaching Team Survey Feedback
Feedback
Students find CodeRunner difficult to use.
Recommendation
Provide additional instruction on answering CodeRunner questions.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Teaching Team Survey Feedback
Feedback
Students perform insufficient unit testing.
Recommendation
Create additional unit testing materials and activities.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Teaching Team Reflections
Feedback
Insufficient use of Git, the industry-standard version control tool.
Recommendation
Create additional materials to guide students on using Git, for example, to clone a repository that contains the lecture and tutorial code and using Git within an IDE for version control.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Implement, document and refactor functions that use Python's syntax, data representations, scope rules, and procedural concepts including iterations and conditionals
  2. Devise algorithms using computational thinking techniques (decomposition and abstraction) and communicate algorithms (oral and written)
  3. Use industry tools to efficiently and ethically develop quality applications (Integrated Development Environment (IDE), debugger, linter, Generative AI and version control)
  4. Demonstrate secure coding practices (variable typing and scoping, testing and input validation)
  5. Develop modules that implement standard algorithms (searching, sorting), process hierarchical data (JSON), and adhere to design principles (coupling and cohesion) and construct applications that use modules and Python libraries.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS), the professional association for Australia's ICT sector, recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is adopted by organisations, governments, and individuals in many countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles. ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile.

This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA 8 (the SFIA code is included):

  • Programming/Software Development (PROG)
  • Testing (TEST)
  • Methods and tools (METL)

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Practical Assessment • • • •
2 - Portfolio • • • • •
3 - Examination • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge • • • • •
2 - Communication • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8