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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Computational Thinking for Problem Solving by University of Pennsylvania

4.7
stars
1,356 ratings

About the Course

Computational thinking is the process of approaching a problem in a systematic manner and creating and expressing a solution such that it can be carried out by a computer. But you don't need to be a computer scientist to think like a computer scientist! In fact, we encourage students from any field of study to take this course. Many quantitative and data-centric problems can be solved using computational thinking and an understanding of computational thinking will give you a foundation for solving problems that have real-world, social impact. In this course, you will learn about the pillars of computational thinking, how computer scientists develop and analyze algorithms, and how solutions can be realized on a computer using the Python programming language. By the end of the course, you will be able to develop an algorithm and express it to the computer by writing a simple Python program. This course will introduce you to people from diverse professions who use computational thinking to solve problems. You will engage with a unique community of analytical thinkers and be encouraged to consider how you can make a positive social impact through computational thinking....

Top reviews

AK

Dec 13, 2022

I recommend this course to everyone who wants to learn about Computation Thinking in an effortless manner. I am delighted with this course. Thanks to UPenn and Coursera for giving me this opportunity.

J

Dec 18, 2018

Excellent course for beginners with enough depth, programming and computational theory to increase their computer science knowledge to a higher level. It builds a good foundation of how computers work

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26 - 50 of 456 Reviews for Computational Thinking for Problem Solving

By Byron D

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Dec 29, 2019

I really enjoyed the course; however, I feel the last module (week 4 / phyton) does not have enough explanations and examples in order to properly complete the assignments. I had to research on my own and complete phyton trainings at other sites in order to successfully complete the projects. Thanks for the course and I look forward to applying to MCIT.

By Adam K

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Feb 22, 2020

Great course! The python in week 4 can be incredibly challenging to those who have no prior experince in coding. There are times that it felt like the course didn't properly cover certain functions or code that would have made the assignments much easier. However, the overall instruction and semi-gentile emersion into computer science are excellent.

By Dhouglas C

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Nov 2, 2018

Finally Professors that know how to teach over video. Easy to digest examples, study cases with cc explaining how the voice over relates to the theory. It seems the University of Penn has entered the online course market to make a difference.

By Aditya T

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Mar 7, 2021

I really enjoyed this course and fully understood the concepts that were covered in this course. I would recommend this course to people who new to Computer science and want an understanding of Algorithms and Computation thinking.

By ATUL K

•

Dec 14, 2022

I recommend this course to everyone who wants to learn about Computation Thinking in an effortless manner. I am delighted with this course. Thanks to UPenn and Coursera for giving me this opportunity.

By Jane K

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Jan 20, 2021

Content was very fluid and easy to follow, yet challenging enough to give my brain a work out. It helped to introduce me to the proper framework needed to further pursue computer science as a study.

By Manan S

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May 5, 2020

A really well-taught course by astute professors. Its assignments are to the point and not much abstract with good amount of challenging questions especially the last module of the course

By Raymond G L K

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Nov 2, 2019

Course content is good, graded assignments are good, I just had problems with my assignments in week 4 as I easily became confused with the implementation of all the lessons combined.

By Deleted A

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Nov 17, 2018

An excellent bridge into introductory computer science topics. Professors Susan Davidson and Chris Murphy exposed learners to computer science concepts within everyday problems.

By Madhu M

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Feb 15, 2019

Thoroughly enjoyed the course. If you are new to computer science or need a refresher of the basic concepts you learned in high school / college, this is the perfect course

By Kirk T

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Jan 9, 2023

Fun but be ready for week 4. It is where the programming begins and I found it to be the most challenging week!

By Henry C

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Aug 31, 2019

Enjoyed the learning and the structure of the course. Felt like I got a good introduction to Python. Learned a bunch about algorithms. I marked a star off because the online grading sometimes was vague. Additionally, it took a while to get feedback. I had a bit of programming experience, so I didn't have a huge challenge, but I can imagine if you are totally new, the assignments are really hard. It would be difficult to get the help and feedback that you need on their online forum system.

By Matthew M

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Aug 8, 2019

the auto-grader for programming assignments can be a bit unforgiving at times, but the course is challenging and thorough for a month-long course. Would recommend. To improve experience with the auto grader some more hints in the assignment page could help, for example offering some explanation of the return function before, rather than after, a quiz that required its use.

By Arjun M

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Jan 22, 2023

Videos are well explained yet in certain assignments some stuff may not have been explained. Overall a great course that I would suggest for those who have dabbled in python already. But if you are new, I would suggest you to get ready cause this course will make you work!

By Patrick D G

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Feb 21, 2023

Course fundamentals were great. The Python work wasn't too hard, but I did find the final assignment frustratingly unclear (which is ironic given that it's threaded throughout the course). Problem sets need to be refined for clarity, but good ideas.

By Joseph R

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Jun 28, 2019

The course is great. I learned a lot. The support for the course is SUPER slow. It's hard to get any direct help for any questions or issues that you are having. Beware of assignment 4.7!

By Tomas L

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May 25, 2019

Great! I learned the value of planning before coding. However, I would like this course to be more challenging.

By Renée F

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Mar 7, 2019

could benefit from more active assistance with assignments, especially section 4

By LUO Z

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Apr 25, 2020

The content is good. But it's hard to get feedback from TA.

By Anna C

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Jun 9, 2020

This was definitely a very frustrating course. Most, if not all, assignments were not built on the video lectures. The phrasing of questions and instructions were confusing at times. I think the most frustrating thing of all was the time it took me to google all the "knowledge" that were necessary to complete the assignments, because they were not taught in the course at all. This was an introductory course to see if I would like the Master's degree that they are offering, but after this course, I don't think I would enjoy it. I think it is a good course, but there is definitely room for improvement.

By Brian P

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Jan 14, 2021

Very valuable information in this course. The first 3 weeks were instructional and pretty easy going. Once the Python section hits in week 4, it gets a lot more difficult. Don't expect help from Discussion Boards or Teacher's Assistance; they won't respond for at least a week. As with other reviewers on here, I spent hours on the last few assignments in week 4, sometimes searching online forums and seeking help elsewhere.

By Arav V

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Aug 19, 2020

week 4 is impossible to complete with the knowledge they provide.The first three weeks were nice

By Mohammad H

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Jul 5, 2020

Although I do appreciate the high quality of the videos, pdf documents, and resources in the course, I have to rate the course 1 star.

First and foremost, the first week was doable for me personally, as an absolute beginner in computer science. However, the course quickly ramps up its intensity.

I found that a lot of the exercises and assignments were way beyond the level of the information taught and discussed in the video lectures.

I understand that as future developers and computer scientists, we are to try to look things up and understand things on our own, but I cannot help but feel that the gap between the lectures and the actual assignments is way too wide for an absolute beginner.

I think that if this course was targeted for an intermediate learner, it would deserve four to five stars, most definitely. However, for an absolute beginner, it's a bit too much to handle the assignments.

Also, the instructions for the assignments are very long and drawn out. It's hard to begin working on an assignment when it's asking so many things of you all at once. Many of these assignments, I feel, could have been split up into mini-assignments instead. It was too overwhelming and often times I had to figure out where to find the information that I needed in order to proceed.

I was excited to get to the part which actually runs through python coding, however, I too found this part to be too overwhelming and difficult.

The course goes from 0-100 real quick, and in my opinion, is much more suitable and doable for intermediate learners of the subject, not for beginners.

By Katie G K

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Aug 10, 2020

The last week of coding projects were well above what was taught in the course. The other weeks answers to the quizzes and projects could be understood through watching videos provided. The coding projects required more research outside of the class and I also needed two different tutors. I would not recommend this course or any other course through university of Penn solely based on this experience. I did reach out to a TA and received a response within 12 hours.

By Nicholas K

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Feb 9, 2021

I don't like peer reviews without any other kind of review from administrators for example. Half of the people taking this course misunderstand things. I strongly recommend avoiding this.