These short, self-paced resources help you check and refresh the programming skills used in CSCI 338. Tracing quizzes and write-a-method starters are available in Java or Python; pick one language and stay with it.
The problems match what you will be asked to write later in the course: grouping with a map of lists, target-sum, anagrams, frequency counts, distinct values, and planting in a flowerbed with no adjacent flowers.
Assessment specifications
- R1 — Trace and reason: predict values and output by tracing code.
- R2 — Methods and control flow: write and call methods using conditionals and loops.
- R3 — Lists and arrays: traverse, transform, and reason about indexed collections.
- R4 — Maps, sets, and algorithms: select data structures and build small algorithms.
- R5 — Tests and debugging: use evidence from tests and errors to locate and fix defects.
- R6 — Explain and revise: explain code precisely and improve it without changing required behavior.
The programming readiness diagnostic, module practice, and self-checks are formative. They identify what to practice; they do not bank an official Satisfactory result.
Official Verification is the scheduled individual paper assessment plus its typed follow-up. That is where course evidence is evaluated as Satisfactory or Not Yet.
Self-paced modules
- Java methods and conditionals
- Loops, counters, and accumulators
- Lists/arrays and traversal
- Maps/sets and frequency counting
- Simple algorithms and edge cases
- Testing and debugging
Tracing is practiced in worked examples, especially Modules 1–4. Explaining and revising are practiced in every exit activity, with extra emphasis in Module 6.
Where to begin
- R1 Needs Practice: Modules 1–4; trace the worked examples before running them.
- R2 Needs Practice: Modules 1 and 2, then Module 5.
- R3 Needs Practice: Module 3, then Module 5.
- R4 Needs Practice: Modules 4 and 5.
- R5 Needs Practice: Module 6; use tests from every module as additional practice.
- R6 Needs Practice: explain your solution at each module exit, especially Module 6.
If several areas need practice, begin with the lowest-numbered recommended module because later work builds on earlier skills.