Fostering academic excellence and biblical virtue to equip students for lives as local and global Christian servants.

Introduction to Computer Programming (Python)

Course Catalog ID:
3299
Subject Categories:
Academic Elective, Computer Programming and Applications
Description

Thinking about learning to code? This is a great first course for students who have had little or no prior experience with computer programming. This foundational course introduces computer programming through the language of Python, one of the most widely-used programming languages today. Students will learn the logic of programming step-by-step, including pseudocode, algorithms, data types, commenting, variables, control structures, loops, functions, lists, objects, and other fundamental programming building blocks. Each week in class, students will walk through a coding exercise together. They will be assigned readings and brief reinforcement activities in our online textbook. Students are also assigned a coding challenge each week, alternating between a practice assignment and a graded coding project. Students will close the year by spending time with Turtle, a drawing tool that allows them to put all these new skills together dynamically in a fun way.

Notes and Requirements
Grade Levels*:
8, 9, 10, 11, 12
(* Determined by Date of Birth and declared Grad Year. Enrollment outside these grade levels requires written concurrence from TPS Support.)

Alternative Course: Students with considerable prior programming experience or interest are encouraged to consider TPS Computer Programming in Java instead of this introductory course.

Reviews from Students and Parents

“This was an awesome course! I learned many things about computers as well as the foundations of programming. If you want to program you must take this course!”

Yeshuwa V
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Student

“I believe that this course is a great way to start someone on their adventure into programming. The different programming challenges throughout the course will puzzle the student into using the information learned in new and inventive ways. TPS’s Introduction to Computer Programming is a fascinating course.”

Michael C
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Student