The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002: §242b Home Papers/Indices prev (§242a) Next (§242c)

Paper (refereed) IT Education: Best Practices

Recommended Citation: Howard, E V. Can We Teach Introductory Programming as a Liberal Education Course? Yes, We Can! In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002, v 19 (San Antonio): §242b. ISSN: 1542-7382.

Can We Teach Introductory Programming as a Liberal Education Course? Yes, We Can!

Refereed

Elizabeth V. Howard    [a1] [a2]
Department of Computer and Information Technology
Miami University    [u1] [u2]
Middletown, Ohio, USA    [c1] [c2]

Twenty years ago as I was completing my undergraduate studies in computer engineering and beginning my engineering career, employers were interested only in my technical or "hard skills" and not in the "soft skills" of writing, listening, presenting, promoting diversity, and team-building. Today's successful IT companies now realize that not only are soft skills important, but they are fundamental contributors to continued fiscal growth for the company and personal success for their employees. Likewise, people in traditionally non-technical careers now need both soft skills and hard skills such as basic computer competency and problem solving skills. Where better to interweave hard and soft skills than in an introductory computer programming course? We can use the principles of liberal education to broaden the knowledge of both the technical and non-technical student. The question is: How do we integrate liberal education into an introductory programming course?

Keywords: introductory programming, liberal education, soft skills, Visual Basic, group work

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