AP Computer Science  is a foundation course in computer programming for students planning to study in STEAM fields, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Students enter the course with varying skill levels. In order to meet the diverse needs and appeal to student interests, I try whenever possible to teach concepts inside of contexts. The course focus will be programming methodology, procedural abstraction, and in-depth study of algorithms, data structures, and data abstractions. The AP Computer Science A course requires that potential solutions of problems be written in the Java programming language. In addition to precision of expression, Java supports important elements of problem solving, including object-orientation, abstraction, and encapsulation. The use of Java also allows students to test potential solutions to problems by running programs.

The AP Computer Science A course must include a minimum of 20 hours of hands-on structured-lab experiences to engage students in individual or group problem solving. Thus, AP Computer Science A course includes a substantial laboratory component in which students design solutions to problems, express their solutions precisely (i.e., in the Java programming language), test their solutions, identify and correct errors (when mistakes occur). The Classroom has computers at every student station. Students will be working with the computer most class time.