This manual is the student's main source of information about the BASIC Instructional Program (BIP), a "hands-on laboratory" that teaches elementary programming in the BASIC language, which has been converted into MAINSAIL, a language designed for portability on a broad class of computers. The manual is organized as a reference document…

A research study investigated the effects on student performance and attitude of three different strategies for selecting lessons in a course in computer programing presented by computer. Sixty college students were randomly assigned to the strategies of student selection of lessons, program selection in the light of the student's past…

Several plotter programs written by 11th and 12th grade mathematics students are presented, along with two examples illustrating how a student can contribute to non-computer courses using knowledge gained from Project Solo. A curriculum module called "Enumeration" is presented which illustrates a computer-oriented approach to a typical…

The papers given at this symposium were selected for their description of how specific problems were tackled, and with what success, as opposed to proposals unsupported by experience. The goal was to permit the audience to profit from the trials (and errors) of others. The eighteen papers presented are: "Business and the University Computer…

This collection reprints six articles which deal with mathematics and the ways in which computers can help teach even young children about mathematics. The subjects of the articles are: teaching children thinking; teaching children to be mathematicians versus teaching about mathematics; on making a theorem for a child; a computer laboratory for…

The first section of this course on programming introduces LISP as a programming language designed to do symbol manipulation, with consequent prevalence in auto-instructional (AI) work. A programming language specifies in its description a number of primitive operations which the computer knows how to perform. An algorithm is the set of…

Assessed effectiveness of classroom team activities in eliciting more favorable attitudinal outcomes with a sample of 215 undergraduate business administration majors enrolled in an introductory COBOL programing course. The findings provide support for incorporating team activities into the programing learning process to develop positive…

Examined effects of beginning computer programing instruction, sex, and home computers on the attitudes of fifth-grade students (N=49). Results of this pilot study showed higher attitudes following instruction and no differences between the sexes or between those who had computers and those who did not. (JN)

Six practical computer-oriented classroom activities are presented. They include making cryptograms using the search-and-replace function of word processors, making a frame for a Logo picture, examining Atari POKE commands, and comparing equivalent commands on different microcomputers. Also indicates the usefulness of marking on monitors with…

A test of the hypothesis that writing and using computer programs related to selected mathematical content positively affects performance on those topics. Results particularly support the hypothesis. (MM)

Fifteen third-grade students learned LOGO during the school year. The group who received one hour per week of individual computer time (separate from in-class instruction) did significantly better on a conditional rule-learning task than did students who received one-half hour per week of individual computer time. (GC)

Describes insights and attitudes toward computer-based learning which developed during design of "Computer Power," an introductory programming curriculum for junior high, high school, and junior college students. Learning and thinking, computer power meta-goals, and computer power subject matter goals are highlighted. (EJS)

A special flowchart for computer programming, known as a structure chart, emphasizes sequence, selection and repetition within basic programs. (MP)

Several computer-oriented lessons designed to explore and exploit the problem-solving capabilities of currently available, inexpensive systems are presented. The programing language BASIC is featured. (MP)

Three keys to the successful development of the program of the computer programming department of the Technical Institute of Oklahoma State University are discussed: Community involvement, faculty/administration commitment to the basic principles of technical career education, and availability of appropriate equipment for student use. (HD)