New Approach to Teaching Computer Programming to Freshmen

Freshmen who take an introductory computer programming course often ask their classmates for help. In some cases, they even copy each other’s programs. That is being considered as cheating. The problem of cheating in Computer Science students’ homework assignments so far has been handled mainly through administrative punishment of the cheaters. The success of such an approach depends to a large degree on the ability of the instructor to recognize the fact of cheating, which is a complicated task. With a large number of students taking the course, identifying the cheaters sometimes requires considerable time. The author of this paper suggests a way of solving the cheating problem by encouraging students’ cooperation rather than trying to fight it. He also suggests the way of changing the course grading policy emphasizes the importance of regular checking the students’ understanding of the course material.