Search

This booklet contains four articles for use by instructors of the APL computer programming language. In the first paper, "APL in a Liberal Arts College," Donald McIntyre describes experiences in the implementation of an introductory computing course at Pomona College and the presentation of a faculty seminar in computing. Principles used in APL instruction are discussed, and specific instructional examples and a 13-item bibliography are included. Then, Gillian Wade, in "Teaching APL in an Academic Environment" describes the status, organization, and history of APL courses at the University of Guelph, Ontario, and presents examples of applications by students. "APL in the Classroom" by Ted Edwards outlines classroom applications for courses in which APL has been taught as a subject or used as a language of discourse to teach another topic. Examples of lesson material, reasons for APL success, limitations, and possible extensions are presented. Finally, Kenneth Iverson, in "The Inductive Method of Introducing APL," treats some of the lessons to be drawn from analogies with the teaching of natural language, examines details of their application in the development of a 3-day introductory APL course, and reports results. Implications for more advanced courses are also briefly discussed. (LMM)