Rowan University is developing, evaluating, disseminating and supporting the broad adoption of a project-based curriculum to help all computer science undergraduate students understand and apply classic algorithm design techniques for solving intractable problems. This novel, award winning curriculum is a sequence of laboratory projects comprising increasingly sophisticated solvers for a single intractable problem. To facilitate broad adoption, this award funds the development of three sets of projects based on intractable problems from different domains: Satisfiability, Traveling Salesperson and Sequence Alignment. This project makes a significant contribution to computer science education by establishing the effectiveness of project-based learning in the study of algorithm design techniques for intractable problems. The project has the potential for national adoption, for a direct impact on computer science educational practices, and for advancing knowledge in the discipline.
To encourage adoption, an extensive faculty guide is being developed and disseminated. The project funds the attendance of potential adopters at a training workshop as well as the development of an online community of adopters. Adopters will have the opportunity to publish and present an experience paper at a national conference.
