COIT11222 - Programming Fundamentals

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will help you become a programmer even if you have had no programming experience. You will learn and practise topics such as pseudocode, variables, constants, data types, operators, expressions, statements, classes, objects, control constructs, methods, passing parameters and arrays. In addition, you will learn how to design, implement and test programs using a modern Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 3 - 2024 Profile
Melbourne
Online
Sydney
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Cairns
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney
Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Brisbane
Melbourne
Online
Rockhampton
Sydney

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical Assessment 35%
2. Practical Assessment 15%
3. Examination 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 75.56% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 25% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: SUTE feedback and personal communication from students.
Feedback
Students indicated that they appreciated the support and help provided by the teaching team.
Recommendation
Continue to offer support through emails, zoom sessions, and during classes.
Action Taken
We provided ongoing support through emails, Zoom sessions, and in-class assistance to ensure students received continuous help and guidance.
Source: SUTE feedback.
Feedback
Students found the unit requirements unclear.
Recommendation
Specify the weekly submission requirements in the weekly tutorial worksheets. Provide additional information to the students about the unit requirements including video recordings demonstrating working assignments to ensure that students have a clear understanding of the assignment requirements.
Action Taken
We implemented weekly tutorial worksheets with assignments and problem-solving exercises based on lecture topics, along with video recordings demonstrating working assignments to ensure students had a clear understanding of the assignment requirements, and we provided ongoing support for feedback and clarifications.
Source: Personal communication from students.
Feedback
Students found the visualisation of program execution provided by the Java Tutor tool helped their understanding of concepts.
Recommendation
Continue to include Java Tutor examples in the lectures and in the tutorials. Continue to encourage students to run their own simple code examples using Java Tutor.
Action Taken
We continued to incorporate Java Tutor examples in both lectures and tutorials, providing students with visual representations of code execution. Additionally, we actively encouraged students to run their own simple code examples using Java Tutor to reinforce their understanding and improve their programming skills.
Source: SUTE feedback and personal communication from students.
Feedback
Students found the 'Summary of Programming Statements' document useful for revision, developing their code, and as a resource in the examination.
Recommendation
Continue to provide this documentation and encourage students to use it and become familiar with it in their tutorial classes.
Action Taken
We continued to provide comprehensive documentation and resources, emphasising their importance during tutorial classes. Students were actively encouraged to utilise the documentation and become familiar with it, enabling them to access valuable information, clarify doubts, and enhance their learning experience.
Source: Personal experience and feedback from the teaching team.
Feedback
Some students find programming challenging.
Recommendation
Introduction of additional tutor support for students outside class times.
Action Taken
Additional tutor support via PASS was introduced.
Source: The new edition of the textbook.
Feedback
A new edition of the textbook was published in 2022. This edition has new content that reflects the latest release of Java (e.g. the inclusion of Records) and is relevant to a first programming unit.
Recommendation
Change to the latest edition of the textbook and update the learning materials and license agreement accordingly.
Action Taken
The learning materials are based on the 2022 version of the textbook.
Source: Teacher Evaluation (Term 1, 2023)
Feedback
There were limited responses in the class because of a struggle to understand programming concepts.
Recommendation
This problem is highly related to the challenging Java programming language for beginners. The programming language 'Python' should be introduced to replace Java.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Teacher Evaluation (Term 1, 2023)
Feedback
The class needs to be more interactive.
Recommendation
To make the class more interactive, include real-world examples, creating a more engaging learning environment.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Develop clearly documented and thoroughly tested applications using an industry-standard integrated development environment (IDE)
  2. Apply procedural concepts (methods, iteration, selection) and design principles (encapsulation, coupling and cohesion) to the realisation of object behaviour in applications
  3. Implement standard algorithms such as searching, sorting and sequential processing for arrays and lists of objects in applications
  4. Employ stream abstraction to process records contained in sequential text files
  5. Apply concepts presented in this unit, including language syntax, memory models, execution models, types, scope rules, methods, parameter passing, classes, objects and algorithms.

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) recognises the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). SFIA is adopted by organisations, governments and individuals in many countries and provides a widely used and consistent definition of ICT skills. SFIA is increasingly being used when developing job descriptions and role profiles. ACS members can use the tool MySFIA to build a skills profile.

This unit contributes to the following workplace skills as defined by SFIA 8:
  • Programming/Software Development (PROG)
  • Testing (TEST)

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Practical Assessment • • • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • • • •
3 - Examination • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • • •
8 - Ethical practice •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10