Diego L's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: Cracking the Code: The Acceleration of Computer Science Learning BASIS Advisor: Heiko Brunken Internship Location: St. Mary's University Onsite Mentor: Ozgur Aktunc

Project Abstract

With the constantly evolving nature of technology and the increasingly competitive job market, self-study in the computer science (CS) field is a common and substantial practice. With so many mediums and resources available, it can be difficult to determine the best choice. I will utilize three free mediums to learn CS and determine which medium is the most effective. By working alongside Dr. Aktunc at St. Mary's University, I will have the opportunity to access college-level exams as well as their average test scores that will serve as a benchmark for comparison. I will start by taking three final exams that correspond to three different courses from the St. Mary's CS undergraduate degree plan. Then, I will use one learning medium for each course. At the end of the project, I will retake the exams and compare the scores to my original scores from the beginning of the project. Any increase in the scores will be attributed to success with the learning medium: the larger the increase, the more effective the method. My courses and their mediums include: Programming I in C (book), Object Oriented Programming I (project-based), and Data Structures & Algorithms (course). By targeting free and accessible resources, I hope to provide my underclassmen who have an interest in CS with a path to self-study success.