Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!xanth!ukma!rutgers!bellcore!geppetto!duncan
From: duncan@geppetto.ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Student Preparedness
Message-ID: <13479@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Date: 17 Jan 89 12:43:42 GMT
References: <13432@bellcore.bellcore.com> <5382@pdn.UUCP>
Sender: news@bellcore.bellcore.com
Reply-To: duncan@ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan)
Organization: Computer Technology Transfer, Bellcore
Lines: 29

In article <5382@pdn.UUCP> reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach) writes:
>
>                           one must be extremely careful not to dump too much
>information on the "introductory" level student.  If every week I hand out
>papers for them to read, it may turn more people off than on.

Agreed, which is why I just said "try to make such things available" rather
than require that they read them.  I'm sure it might require some experimen-
tation to see what works out well before adding to the required course mater-
ial is feasible.

>                                                               The quality
>and appropriate content for an introductory level student is more important
>than the quantity of papers.  I will only hand out a paper to an introductory
>level class if it is outstanding and fits in well with what we are discussing.

Perhaps some examples of papers you've used (and those others might care to
recommend) for introductory courses would be really useful -- they would to
me!  It would save a lot of the experimentation I mentioned above if people
experienced in introducing computer science literature into the curriculum
would suggest papers that an introductory class could be expected to read and
understand.  (I realize the 'understand' part might be open to debate, but I
am more interested in compiling a list of what people have used, THEN discuss
the pros and cons of specific ones.)

Speaking only for myself, of course, I am...
Scott P. Duncan (duncan@ctt.bellcore.com OR ...!bellcore!ctt!duncan)
                (Bellcore, 444 Hoes Lane  RRC 1H-210, Piscataway, NJ  08854)
                (201-699-3910 (w)   201-463-3683 (h))