• Textbooks
• Instructor Information
• Course Description
• Course Objectives
• Course Procedures
• Grading Procedures
• Course Schedule

COURSE DESCRIPTION: An introduction to the research, reading, and presentation of advanced material in computer science. This course focuses on the development of communication skills related to the field of computer science.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives for this course include:

• Students will learn to independently research a topic in computer science using the library and online resources.
• Students will learn to quickly skim-read an article to determine the articles purpose and usefulness to the reader.
• Students will learn to read articles in depth in order to achieve a deep undertstanding of the article so that they can talk about the article with others.
• Students will develop critical listening skills as they listen to several presentations througout the semester
• Students will develop written and oral presentation skills through writings and group presentations and class discussion.

COURSE PROCEDURES: The beginning of this course will concentrate on developing and enhancing your reading and writing skills related to computer science. We will meet twice each week as a group and will spend the discussing issues related to searching for, reading and understanding articles covering topics related to computer science.

The second half of the course will focus on listening and presentation skills. One day a week will be spent listening to a presentation given by your classmates. You will be expected to listen critically to these presentations so that you can evaluate both the content and style of the presentation. The second class day each week will be spent preparing for a presentation or discussing the previous presentation.

You will be required to prepare and present one presentation that will be given to all faculty and all students enrolled in both the junior and senior seminar for math and computer science. You will be paired with a partner for this presentation.

GRADING PROCEDURES: Students will be evaluated on the development of their communication and research skills as well as their participation in ALL class activities.

The final grade will be determined by the following distribution:

Attendance is REQUIRED. Your active involvement in classroom discussions and activities is vital to the success of this course. Excused absences will not count against you, but must be approved prior to class if at all possible. Unexcused absences will result in loss of points for attendance that day, as well as a 0 for any homework, summary, etc, that is due that day. Homework and exercises will be due at class the day they are due. Late work must be completed, but will be given a score of 0.

Plagiarism and Other Academic Honesty.
Plagiarism and cheating of any form are serious offenses and may result in an F for the assignment, the course, or expulsion from the college. The details of Central's Academic Integrity policy are found in the Student Handbook, on the web. A copy will be sent to you via e-mail during the first week of the semester. It is your responsibility to read and understand the contents of that policy before you submit work to be graded. Questions regarding the policies and enforcement of the policies may be addressed to me during class or during office hours.

Disabilities
Central College abides by interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that stipulates no student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.” Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, hearing, sight or mobility impairments, and other health related impairments. If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see me and Nancy Kroese, Director of Student Support Services and Disability Services Coordinator, (x5247) so that such accommodations may be arranged.

Notification of Participation in College Sanctioned Events
Mock Trail participants, choir tour participants, athletes, and others who must miss a class for participating in a college sanctioned event are expected to notify me in advance and complete work including tests in advance of the absence. It is the student's responsibility to communicate with me in advance regarding their absences and determine a schedule for make up work.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Week	Date	Day of Week	Class Activity	Homework for Next Meeting
1	Aug 26	Wednesday	Introduction. Picking a topic. What pieces are typically in a seminar - getting the right level Searching for articles How to read and summarize Seminar Schedule	For Monday: Article Reviews For Wednesday: Library Book Search
2	Aug 31	Monday	Discuss library and online computer science resources. Also discuss abstracts of articles.
	Sep 2	Wednesday	Discuss articles and begin to choose a topic Sr: present articles JR: present library searches What is a good outline?	Article Search - find 2 articles on different topics Article Abstracts - write an abstract for each article
3	Sep 9	Wednesday	Analytical Wrap writing exercise Introductions vs. Abstracts	Search for more possible articles/books/topics
4	Sep 14	Monday	Decide on presentation topic and groups	Prepare an outline of your presentation. Identify what pieces each person may take. Identify places where you need more information/sources.
	Sep 16	Wednesday	Terminology speaking and writing exercise Review SR intros
5	Sep 21	Monday	Work on outlining presentations
	Sep 23	Wednesday	SR give over of their presentations	Continue research and search for sources
6	Sep 28	Monday	Senior practice presentation Work on presentation
	Sep 30	Wednesday	Seminar Presentations Begin Math and CS senior seminars
7	Oct 5	Monday	Senior practice presentations
	Oct 7	Wednesday	2 CS senior presentations
8	Oct 12	Monday	Senior practice presentation Work on presentation
	Oct 14	Wednesday	Math and CS Senior Seminar presentations
9	Oct 19	Monday	Senior seminar practice presentations
	Oct 21	Wednesday	2 CS senior seminar presentations
10	Oct 26	Monday	Work on presentations
	Mar 25	Wednesday	Math Junior Seminar presentation
11	Nov 2	Monday	Practice Presentation
	Nov 4	Wednesday	CS Junior Seminar presentation
12	Nov 9	Monday	Review presentation Presentation Work
	Nov 11	Wednesday	Math Junior Seminar presentation
13	Nov 16	Monday	Practice Presentation
	Nov 18	Wednesday	CS Junior Seminar presentation
14	Nov 23	Monday	Review presentaions
	Nov 25	Wednesday	Junior Math Seminar presentation
15	Nov 30	Monday	Thinking about senior seminar Technical writing
	Dec 2	Wednesday	Math and CS Senior Seminar presentations
16	Dec 7	Monday	Technical writing
	Dec 9	Wednesday	Math Junior Seminar Presentation