From Robots to Gorillas: Computer Programming for Engineers

From 2009 to 2012, the author contributed to the team teaching of computer programming to thousands of first-year engineers at the University of Alberta. Despite a complex scenario, his main objectives were to improve both the course material and his teaching evaluations. Through productive collaborations with colleagues and administrators, he succeeded via a transition from procedural C++, with a virtual robot called Karel, to MATLAB, with a video game called Gorillas. These two versions of the course are compared and contrasted, with a focus on the author’s own contributions. Furthermore, the pedagogical approach is compared and contrasted with that of relevant literature. As with the state of the art, the work argues in favour of teaching introductory programming using MATLAB. Unlike the state of the art, the proposed approach exploits video game design and iterative and incremental development. Effectiveness of the contributions are demonstrated through student, peer, and self assessments.