Mrs. Renfroe

 AP Computer Science Principles
2024-2025 Class Syllabus are HERE. 
​Download the book "Blown to Bits" here.
Please check out the abbreviated 2024-25 Syllabus & Overview below.
​ |  Weekly Lesson Plans  |  

---

The AP CSP course is organized around seven big ideas, which are essential to studying computer science.
Big Idea 1: Creativity Computing is a creative activity. In this course, you will use the tools and techniques of computer science to create interesting and relevant digital artifacts (e.g., a video, animation, infographic, audio recording or program) with characteristics that are enhanced by computation.
Big Idea 2: Abstraction Abstraction is a central problem-solving technique in computer science. In this course, you'll use abstraction to model the world and communicate with people and machines.
Big Idea 3: Data and Information Data and information facilitate the creation of knowledge. Managing and interpreting an overwhelming amount of raw data is part of the foundation of our information society and technology. In this course, you will work with data to better understand the many ways in which data is transformed into information and knowledge.
Big Idea 4: Algorithms Algorithms are used to develop and express solutions to computational problems. They are fundamental to even the most basic everyday task. In this course, you will work with algorithms in many ways: You will develop and express original algorithms, implement algorithms in a language, and analyze algorithms analytically and empirically.
Big Idea 5: Programming Programming enables problem solving, human expression, and creation of knowledge. It results in the creation of software, and it facilitates the creation of computational artifacts, including music, images, and visualizations. In this course, you'll learn the fundamental concepts of programming that can be applied across a variety of projects and languages. You will create programs, translating human intention into computational artifacts.
Big Idea 6: The Internet The Internet and systems built on it have a profound impact on society. It pervades modern computing. In this course, you will: gain insight into how the Internet operates; study characteristics of the Internet and systems built on it; and analyze important concerns, such as cybersecurity.
Big Idea 7: Global Impact Computation has changed the way people think, work, live, and play. In this course, you'll become familiar with many ways in which computing enables innovation. You will analyze the potential benefits and harmful effects of computing in a number of contexts.

AP Computer Science Principles
The AP Computer Science Principles course is designed to be equivalent to a first-semester introductory college computing course. In this course, students will develop computational thinking skills vital for success across all disciplines, such as using computational tools to analyze and study data and working with large data sets to analyze, visualize, and draw conclusions from trends. The course engages students in the creative aspects of the field by allowing them to develop computational artifacts based on their interests. Students will also develop effective communication and collaboration skills by working individually and collaboratively to solve problems, and will discuss and write about the impacts these solutions could have on their community, society, and the world. 

About the AP Exam: 
Please read this page about the Spring 2024 AP Exam