15-110: Principles of Computing


An introductory computer science course for students with little to no computing experience. Students will learn the core elements of programming in Python and will also receive a broad overview of big ideas in the field of computer science. The course begins with fundamentals of programming (data, variables, functions, conditionals, loops, and recursion) and the basics of computer organization (data representation and memory), then introduces major data structures (lists, dictionaries, trees, and graphs), the core concepts of efficiency (through runtime analysis and a case study of search algorithms), and how computing is scaled for practical use (concurrency and the internet). The course concludes with an overview of how computer science can be used as a tool to support other domains (data analysis, simulation, and machine learning) and how computer science influences and is influenced by the world (history, ethics, and modern events).

Meeting Times

Due to the COVID-19 Epidemic, all classes, recitation and office hourse for Week 1 and Week 2 will be conducted remotely. Please refer to the class Piazza for links to the Zoom class sessions and recitations.


SessionInstructor(s)TimeLocation
Lecture 1Franceska Xhakaj (francesx)MWF 2:30-3:20pm ESTCUC MCCNMY *(Week1-2 remote)
Lecture 2Kelly Rivers (krivers)MWF 3:35-4:25pm ESTBH A51 *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation ANazanin (nazimi) and Belle (beblanch) R 9:05am- 9:55am ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation BEzra (eboldizs) and Claudia (cosorio)R 10:10am-11:00am ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation CMichelle (mskoo) and Nathan M. (nmaher)R 11:15am-12:05pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation DMeghan (mamcgraw) and Annika (annikaw) R 12:20pm- 1:10pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation EAnagha (asrikuma) and Neeraj (neerajsa)R 1:25pm- 2:15pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation FAshley (awzhang) and Esther (oeb)R 2:30pm- 3:20pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation GFlako (daniells) and Nathan S. (nshao)R 4:40pm- 5:30pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation HJenny (jdoan) and Muzaffar (mimohame)R 9:05am- 9:55am ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation IFrank (frankh)R 10:10am-11:00am ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation JAmit (amitnag) and Fiona (cchiu2)R 12:20pm- 1:10pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation KKeerthana (keerthav) and Lauren (leheller)R 1:25pm- 2:15pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)
Recitation LStephen (stephenz) and Otto (ojs)R 4:40pm- 5:30pm ESTGHC CLSTR *(Week1-2 remote)

Office Hours

In-person TA Hours take place in the Gates 5th Floor Teaching Commons and clusters. When you have a question, sign up on the OH Queue and a TA will come find you to help.

Remote TA Hours take place remotely on Zoom. When you have a question, sign up on the OH Queue with a link to a Zoom meeting you host, and a TA will join your Zoom call to help.

Instructor Hours take place either remotely or in GHC 4003 for Prof. Franceska and Gates 4109 for Prof. Kelly; sign up on the OH Queue and state your modality there. Meetings with the instructors are also available by appointment.

Drop-in Tutoring is run by the Student Academic Success Center and takes place across campus in the evenings. This is a good resource for more in-depth review of the course concepts.

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
In-person TA HoursTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD
Remote TA Hours9-11AM
5-6PM		5-8PM5-8PM5-8PM5-8PM12-5PM1-7PM
Instructor Hours11AM-12PM (Franceska)12:30PM-2PM (Kelly)1PM-2PM (Franceska)12:30PM-2PM (Kelly)4:45PM-5:45PM (Franceska)NoneNone
Drop-in TutoringTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD