2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engaging students who are unsure about Computer Science can be a challenge. A lot of introductory programming courses cap the coursework with a standard project that isn't always appealing to students. While good instruction results in students being able to complete the required projects, the projects may not drive enough student engagement as well as a desire for continued learning beyond the end of the course. Both strong student engagement and continued learning beyond the confines of the first programming course can impact student's persistence in computer science and related majors. For students from underrepresented minorities and women the impact of a first programming course can be significant. For individuals who do not fit perceived cultural stereotypes of the tech geek or programming nerd, getting through a first programming courses successfully and finding that computing is indeed for them can be huge boost as far as program persistence, completion, and professional success. Towards supporting these goals, an open ended "Bring Your Own Project" for the first programming course has been adopted for several years by this author. Apart from driving instant interest with the BYOP moniker, we find that students are more invested in their projects. Many students remain invested in their projects even after the completion of the course, and this allows some students to follow-up and continue to further development in future courses, or on their own. Additionally, an open-ended project, with scope control being performed by the instructor, allows for a early introduction to the software design process and consideration of ethical issues that are inherent in technology. A wide variety of projects that inevitably results from this process, also gives the full student body in class exposure to a wide range of possibilities when it comes to programming, even at their early programmer level. Although this process is intensive and requires significant instructor, and was primarily done in classes of up to 45 students, the approach described can be scaled to larger classes through trained TAs. The value of increased engagement, continued engagement and learning, after the end of the course, and, confidence boost overall makes it well worth the effort. The author also finds that the openness of project topics has led to the more student creativity and expression in class projects, including the embracing of their unique identities and exploration of more advanced materials under instructor guidance. Projects that address a gender-specific, interest-specific, or queer concern also let students (the project makers and their classmates alike) that computing applies in many disparate domains and there is great value to a diversity of voices in technology. This paper describes the approach, general project design, the ethical reflection embedded in the project, and experiences from several years of teaching (since Fall 2017). A list of student projects with brief descriptions in included so other instructors can get ideas and inspiration, as well as a discussion of how to scale to larger courses.