Modern Course ExemplarsInfused with Parallel & Distributed Computing for the Introductory Computing Course Sequence

The eBook

Find the Exemplar or the Activity That Matches Your Course

Search by institution or by activity. Filter activities by type, time needed, preparation, language, PDC topic, CS1 anchor and institution — then open the chapter summary, the teaching materials, or the full e-book.

Early release

Download the full e-book (PDF) Chapter summaries Appendices & material

About the volume

A Guided Collection, Not a Linear Book

This is a practical adoption guide. Rather than only arguing that introductory courses should be modernized, it provides classroom-tested, modular course materials that can be adopted at different scales — while ensuring that the basic CS1 learning outcomes are preserved.

Begin with an adoption goal, use Chapter 1 to understand the common activity families, compare a small number of institutional chapters that resemble your local context, then move to the appendices and repositories for implementation resources. A small, feasible first adoption is often the best starting point for broader CS1 modernization.

Chapter anatomy

The institutional chapters share a common structure, so you can compare exemplars without learning a new organization each time.

  1. Abstract — what was done and why.
  2. Descriptor elements — programming language, relevant course, prerequisites, textbook, PDC topics with Bloom levels, learning outcomes, context for use.
  3. Chapter body — course changes, unplugged and plugged-in activities, surveys and assessment, challenges, teaching tips, lessons learned.
  4. Appendix & repository — repository link, detailed pre/post syllabus, handouts, slides, assignments, starter code, surveys, anonymized evaluation data.

Before using a resource, verify that software versions, API links, datasets and institutional assessment requirements remain current.

Where to start

Which Path Should I Take?

Five ways in, depending on what you came for. Each goes straight to the part of the volume that answers it.

  1. I want one class activity Start with the activity finder 17 activities, filterable
  2. I want a lab or module Read Chapter 1, then compare two institutions shared activity families, p. 26
  3. I want a course model Browse the institutional chapter summaries eight CS1 exemplars
  4. I want the teaching files Go to the repositories syllabi, handouts, starter code, data
  5. I want the evidence Read the methodology and the chapter data sections Chapter 0, p. 13

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Browse the Material

Part I — CS1

CS1 Exemplars at a Glance

Treat this as a starting filter. The most important adoption question is not only “which language matches mine?” but “which activity scale, preparation level, evidence type and implementation style match my course?”

Comparing the eight exemplars side by side? The quick-comparison table — institutional context, language, infusion style and what each is a good starting point for — lives on the project page, so it is in one place rather than two. See the comparison →
Most readers should start with Chapter 1. It distills the recurring activity families, shared PDC concepts, common implementation challenges and cross-institution lessons — then points into the institutional chapters for local implementation details. Read Chapter 1 →

Appendices & GitHub

Appendices and Instructional Material

Each chapter closes with an appendix that points here. The chapters describe the activities; these repositories hold the material you actually teach from — and are curated periodically as adopters revise and extend them.

CDER-Center / CS1-CS2_Exemplar_Ebook

The shared project repository

Everything lives in this one repository, under CS1/, in a directory per chapter named chapterN-INSTITUTION — matching the chapter numbers in the volume. Every chapter directory follows the same five-folder layout, so material is where you expect it regardless of which exemplar you open.

  • Detailed_Pre_and_Post_Syllabus — the course before and after, plus a description of the changes made
  • Unplugged_Activities — activity guides, worksheets, handouts, facilitator resources
  • Plugged_Activities — programming exercises, source and starter code, lab activities
  • Evaluation_Data_and_Analysis — survey instruments, anonymized responses, evaluation metrics, statistical analyses
  • Optional_Archive — earlier syllabi and master schedules, so baseline and intervention semesters can be compared
Browse the CS1 in Git Repository root

Chapter summaries

Chapter Summaries

Every chapter, with its abstract, contents and authors, so you can see what is in the volume before opening it. Each one links to its own first page in the full PDF and to the teaching material that goes with it.

The full PDF is the official version of record. It is a single volume with complete cross-references between chapters, and a shared bibliography (pp. 296–301). Chapters are not published as standalone files, because a chapter cut out of the volume loses both. The summaries below are here so you can find the right chapter quickly, then open the volume at that page.
Page numbers refer to the pages of the current release.
ChapterPartPagesOpen
The chapter list requires JavaScript — open the full volume instead, which carries the same contents.
Download the full e-book (PDF) Open teaching materials

Cite this volume

Copy either form, or select the text if you would rather edit it into your own style. The plain-text wording is what the project uses, so please keep it as it stands.

The DOI identifies the e-book as a whole and resolves to its landing page, not to any single chapter. Cite chapters by their number within the volume.

Plain text

Prasad, S. K., Weems, C., Thota, N., Sussman, A., Vaidyanathan, R., Gannod, G., Crockett, A., Bunde, D., Spacco, J., Srivastava, S., Bourke, C., Suo, X., Maher, P., Gruner, C., Smith, M., Zhu, M., and Wang, J. Aug. 2026 (early release). Toward Modern Models of Introductory Computing Courses – CS1 and CS2 Course Exemplars infused with Parallel and Distributed Computing Concepts. CDER Center. NSF Award #2321015. https://NSFexemplar.CDERcenter.org/. pages 291.

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BibTeX

@book{cder2026exemplars,
  title     = {Toward Modern Models of Introductory Computing Courses:
               CS1 and CS2 Course Exemplars infused with Parallel and
               Distributed Computing Concepts},
  editor    = {Prasad, S. K. and Weems, C. and Thota, N. and Sussman, A. and
               Vaidyanathan, R. and Gannod, G. and Crockett, A. and Bunde, D. and
               Spacco, J. and Srivastava, S. and Bourke, C. and Suo, X. and
               Maher, P. and Gruner, C. and Smith, M. and Zhu, M. and Wang, J.},
  year      = {2026},
  month     = aug,
  publisher = {CDER Center},
  doi       = {10.14809/4mcf-5jmt},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.14809/4mcf-5jmt},
  note      = {Early release. NSF Award #2321015}
}

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