Curriculum for teaching class-based programming and object oriented program design in an introductory computer science course

The HtDCH Project builds on the foundations of the TeachScheme! project to present a systematic design of class based programs in an object-oriented language (Java). A series of design recipes guides the student through the definition of class hierarchies representing problem data, the design of methods for these classes, and the design of abstractions arising from recurring patterns of program structures. The design recipe is a pedagogical framework and intervention tool that defines the design steps with identifiable, measurable outcomes, and guidelines for achieving and assessing these outcomes. Students following this curriculum gain a solid understanding of object-oriented computation in any language, and programming discipline in general.