6 answers
Daergh
Student
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
1
Question
Asked
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How to do good in AP Computer Science?
Hi! I'm in 11th grade and I'm looking for some advice on how to do good in some of my coding classes. I'm taking AP Computer Science Principles and wanting to learn how to do good in the class. Thanks!
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6 answers
Jacob Taylor
Production Manager
521
Answers
Stafford, Virginia
Updated
Jacob’s Answer
Doing well in AP Computer Science Principles requires dedication, practice, and a systematic approach to learning. Here are some tips to help you succeed in your coding classes:
1. **Stay Organized**: Keep track of your assignments, deadlines, and class materials. Having a well-organized system will help you manage your time effectively and reduce stress.
2. **Understand the Fundamentals**: Focus on grasping the foundational concepts of computer science. Ensure you have a solid understanding of programming basics, algorithms, and data structures.
3. **Practice Regularly**: Coding is a skill that improves with practice. Work on coding exercises and projects regularly to reinforce what you've learned in class.
4. **Review and Seek Help**: If you encounter challenges, don't hesitate to seek help from your teacher, classmates, or online resources. Review class materials regularly to reinforce your understanding.
5. **Engage in Hands-On Projects**: Apart from class assignments, take up personal coding projects that interest you. This will enhance your practical skills and creativity.
6. **Collaborate and Discuss**: Engage in group discussions and coding sessions with peers. Collaborating with others can lead to valuable insights and different problem-solving approaches.
7. **Use Online Resources**: There are numerous online platforms that offer coding tutorials and exercises. Utilize resources like coding websites, forums, and YouTube channels to supplement your learning.
8. **Stay Updated**: The tech industry evolves rapidly. Keep yourself updated with the latest trends, programming languages, and tools in computer science.
9. **Practice Critical Thinking**: Computer science involves problem-solving. Develop your critical thinking skills to analyze and solve coding challenges effectively.
10. **Test Yourself**: Take practice exams and quizzes to evaluate your progress and identify areas that need improvement.
11. **Stay Committed and Patient**: Learning coding can be challenging at times, but stay committed and patient. Celebrate your successes and learn from your mistakes.
12. **Balance Your Time**: While it's essential to dedicate time to your coding classes, remember to maintain a balance with other subjects and extracurricular activities.
Remember, coding is a skill that develops over time. Be persistent, curious, and proactive in your learning. By staying engaged and practicing consistently, you can excel in AP Computer Science Principles and develop valuable skills for your future endeavors in the field of computer science. Good luck!
1. **Stay Organized**: Keep track of your assignments, deadlines, and class materials. Having a well-organized system will help you manage your time effectively and reduce stress.
2. **Understand the Fundamentals**: Focus on grasping the foundational concepts of computer science. Ensure you have a solid understanding of programming basics, algorithms, and data structures.
3. **Practice Regularly**: Coding is a skill that improves with practice. Work on coding exercises and projects regularly to reinforce what you've learned in class.
4. **Review and Seek Help**: If you encounter challenges, don't hesitate to seek help from your teacher, classmates, or online resources. Review class materials regularly to reinforce your understanding.
5. **Engage in Hands-On Projects**: Apart from class assignments, take up personal coding projects that interest you. This will enhance your practical skills and creativity.
6. **Collaborate and Discuss**: Engage in group discussions and coding sessions with peers. Collaborating with others can lead to valuable insights and different problem-solving approaches.
7. **Use Online Resources**: There are numerous online platforms that offer coding tutorials and exercises. Utilize resources like coding websites, forums, and YouTube channels to supplement your learning.
8. **Stay Updated**: The tech industry evolves rapidly. Keep yourself updated with the latest trends, programming languages, and tools in computer science.
9. **Practice Critical Thinking**: Computer science involves problem-solving. Develop your critical thinking skills to analyze and solve coding challenges effectively.
10. **Test Yourself**: Take practice exams and quizzes to evaluate your progress and identify areas that need improvement.
11. **Stay Committed and Patient**: Learning coding can be challenging at times, but stay committed and patient. Celebrate your successes and learn from your mistakes.
12. **Balance Your Time**: While it's essential to dedicate time to your coding classes, remember to maintain a balance with other subjects and extracurricular activities.
Remember, coding is a skill that develops over time. Be persistent, curious, and proactive in your learning. By staying engaged and practicing consistently, you can excel in AP Computer Science Principles and develop valuable skills for your future endeavors in the field of computer science. Good luck!
Julian Gaston
Web Development
1
Answer
Arlington, Texas
Updated
Julian’s Answer
Let's not delve into the topic of time management and its related concepts. There are plenty of other answers that give you a comprehensive understanding of how to manage your time in university or AP classes.
Instead, I'd like to offer some advice that leans more towards the technical side of things.
-- Embrace learning beyond the classroom
Mastering programming and getting comfortable with it can be a bit demanding in terms of resources. While it's true that learning a new programming language requires some time, it doesn't have to consume all of it. The effort and intelligence you put into it will dictate how fast you attain this comfort level. From my experience and interactions with colleagues, I've realized that the learning process might not be the most enjoyable part. The real fun begins when you start building features, fixing bugs, and brainstorming creative and efficient solutions to problems. If you don't find this exciting, I apologize. But in my opinion, and especially for young people, the thrill of programming lies in bringing your ideas to life, much like a software builder and architect combined (think Minecraft). This exciting phase, however, only comes once you've familiarized yourself with a programming language. So as you learn, always remember that your efforts will eventually bear fruit. The sooner you get comfortable with a language, the sooner you can bring your ideas to life consistently.
Personal Note: As a web developer at Verizon, I didn't find the learning phase of programming particularly enjoyable. The real fun for me started in a production environment, working towards a common goal with my colleagues. I find it thrilling when I'm presented with a problem and I get to devise an efficient and neat solution.
-- Choose a programming language and stick with it:
While exploring different programming languages can be fun, it can also be a pitfall for beginners. If you're new to this, I'd advise you to stick with one language and understand it well enough to use it functionally in a production setting. Ideally, this language should align with your AP class to keep you focused and minimize distractions. Pick a "higher level" language that's more similar to human language and easy to start with. Python, Javascript, and Java are some good options. Each of these languages has different career prospects, but don't worry about that for now. Your focus should be on learning for the sake of learning.
-- Try not to get lost in tutorials. But if you do, it's not the end of the world
This advice might be hard to follow for anyone trying to self-learn programming. There are numerous free online resources to help you get comfortable with a specific language or framework. While this is great for beginners, it can also be a double-edged sword. It's generally beneficial to stick to one course, video series, or documentation to avoid distractions and speed up your learning process, which in turn can help you excel in your class. However, if you do find yourself going down a tutorial rabbit hole, don't panic. Remember, not everything you learn has to be absorbed. In the beginning, you can watch videos just for the sake of watching. Don't stress too much about your learning. After all, creativity flourishes when you're having fun. Even if you're not coding along, watching videos can help you understand the CONTEXT, even if you're not fully engaged.
The key to programming is to try and have fun. Make an effort to enjoy the process. And if you're not, that's perfectly fine.
Best of luck!
Learn outside of the classroom
Pick a programming language and stick with it
Watch Tutorials, Look at Documentation
Have FUN!
Instead, I'd like to offer some advice that leans more towards the technical side of things.
-- Embrace learning beyond the classroom
Mastering programming and getting comfortable with it can be a bit demanding in terms of resources. While it's true that learning a new programming language requires some time, it doesn't have to consume all of it. The effort and intelligence you put into it will dictate how fast you attain this comfort level. From my experience and interactions with colleagues, I've realized that the learning process might not be the most enjoyable part. The real fun begins when you start building features, fixing bugs, and brainstorming creative and efficient solutions to problems. If you don't find this exciting, I apologize. But in my opinion, and especially for young people, the thrill of programming lies in bringing your ideas to life, much like a software builder and architect combined (think Minecraft). This exciting phase, however, only comes once you've familiarized yourself with a programming language. So as you learn, always remember that your efforts will eventually bear fruit. The sooner you get comfortable with a language, the sooner you can bring your ideas to life consistently.
Personal Note: As a web developer at Verizon, I didn't find the learning phase of programming particularly enjoyable. The real fun for me started in a production environment, working towards a common goal with my colleagues. I find it thrilling when I'm presented with a problem and I get to devise an efficient and neat solution.
-- Choose a programming language and stick with it:
While exploring different programming languages can be fun, it can also be a pitfall for beginners. If you're new to this, I'd advise you to stick with one language and understand it well enough to use it functionally in a production setting. Ideally, this language should align with your AP class to keep you focused and minimize distractions. Pick a "higher level" language that's more similar to human language and easy to start with. Python, Javascript, and Java are some good options. Each of these languages has different career prospects, but don't worry about that for now. Your focus should be on learning for the sake of learning.
-- Try not to get lost in tutorials. But if you do, it's not the end of the world
This advice might be hard to follow for anyone trying to self-learn programming. There are numerous free online resources to help you get comfortable with a specific language or framework. While this is great for beginners, it can also be a double-edged sword. It's generally beneficial to stick to one course, video series, or documentation to avoid distractions and speed up your learning process, which in turn can help you excel in your class. However, if you do find yourself going down a tutorial rabbit hole, don't panic. Remember, not everything you learn has to be absorbed. In the beginning, you can watch videos just for the sake of watching. Don't stress too much about your learning. After all, creativity flourishes when you're having fun. Even if you're not coding along, watching videos can help you understand the CONTEXT, even if you're not fully engaged.
The key to programming is to try and have fun. Make an effort to enjoy the process. And if you're not, that's perfectly fine.
Best of luck!
Julian recommends the following next steps:
Ann C
Learning & Development, Software, Administrative, Tech, Systems
37
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Ann’s Answer
Daergh,
As Jacob said, it does take dedication. In addition to what he wrote, have you looked at any of these sites? You could also join or explore organizations like Girls in Tech, Girls Who Code, etc.
https://www.albert.io/blog/ap-computer-science-tips/
https://codegym.cc/groups/posts/ap-computer-science-a-exam
Wishing you much success!
Ann
As Jacob said, it does take dedication. In addition to what he wrote, have you looked at any of these sites? You could also join or explore organizations like Girls in Tech, Girls Who Code, etc.
https://www.albert.io/blog/ap-computer-science-tips/
https://codegym.cc/groups/posts/ap-computer-science-a-exam
Wishing you much success!
Ann
Fred Rosenberger
Data Analyst
481
Answers
St. Louis, MO
Updated
Fred’s Answer
The only thing i'd add to the above is NEVER wait until the last minute to start an assignment. Almost everything but the most basic of assignments (i.e. "Hello, world!!") will take much longer than you expect. You'd be better off doing one hour a day for a week than trying to do a seven-hour marathon all night.
*Admin Note: one line was removed for profanity *
*Admin Note: one line was removed for profanity *
Thays Moia Ribeiro
Aupair
24
Answers
Yucca Valley, California
Updated
Thays’s Answer
Stay organized, Practice regularly, Seek help when needed, Participate in class discussions, Review class material, Work on projects, Take practice exams, Collaborate with peers, Stay consistent, Stay curious and have fun and for end remember, practice and dedication are key to success. Good luck with your AP Computer Science Principles class! If you have any specific questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask.
Elizabeth Brackett
Sales
2
Answers
Kirkland, Washington
Updated
Elizabeth’s Answer
You have received some great responses already. I would add that you want to be in the class to learn the topic, NOT prepare for the AP exam. Often these classes solely focus on exam preparation and miss key elements of really learning, understanding and developing a passion for the topic. Stay organized has been a consistent theme and I, too, want to emphasize that. First you will feel overwhelmed if you do not build a habit of studying daily. Your teacher will also quickly identify those who are keeping up vs. those who may save for the weekend or one day a week. Those who are consistent and include repetition more often excel in AP courses. Remember this is a college level course and you are in high school. Do not put too much pressure on yourself or else it robs you of the joy of learning.