Computational Thinking and Problem Solving

We are transitioning to a MOOC version of this course. There will be a very small registration fee which excludes 9% GST to be charged for accessing the course material. However, student must then register separately to attend the relevant Final Contest to be graded and receive a certificate (i.e., registering to access the MOOC does not include registration for the Final Contest). The website will be updated with specific information by March 2024. Students may look forward to accessing the material later in the year (to prepare for NOI 2025).

• Course resources and announcements are delivered through Coursemology
• 8 Lesson Units with 1 Final Contest (1 day each; 9 days total)
• Lesson units take place between 11 December 2023 and 22 December 2023, with a Final Contest on 27 December 2023
• The registration fee is $250, which includes 8% GST

• Process knowledge and algorithms
• Problem-solving by brute-force search
• Data abstraction and decomposition
• Functional abstraction and decomposition
• Recursion
• Extending problem-solving with divide and conquer

• Similar to Mathematical Thinking
• Quantification via numbers / structures / representations
• Applied towards Modelling and Computation
• Generally categorised by the following skills:
• Abstraction: generalising data into representations and structures
• Algorithmic Thinking: defining process knowledge specifically (primary focus)
• Decomposition: dividing a problem into sub-problems
• Pattern Recognition: generalising relationships (modelling)

• General process for finding solutions
• Pólya's Problem-Solving Process (4 steps)
1. Understand the problem: define all the relevant information
2. Devise a plan: attempt using methods that you know
3. Carry out the plan: execute the devised plan and try again if it fails
4. Look back: reflect on what worked and what did not
• Default plan: Brute-force Search (i.e. Automated Guess and Check)

• Students may opt to take the CS0 Final Contest without attending the course
• Conducted in-person at SOC on 27 December from 10am to 12pm
• The registration fee is $50, which includes 8% GST (for new participants)
• Obtaining a Pass will allow students to enrol in CS1