Programming Contests, Competitive Programming Curricula, and how Everybody Benefits

Abstract

The panelists, all of them competitive programming

team coaches and college educators, share their experiences in

teaching and working with competitive programming students

and teams. The panel uses as the model the International

Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC) but additionally

will describe other formats and resources including activities

for K-12. We compare various competitive programming courses

and different ways of incorporating components of computing

courses into them. We discuss the payoffs for participating

students of varying backgrounds and interests, aptitudes, and

motivations, as well as payoffs to industry and academia in

terms of developing the best-prepared workforce. We extract

best practices and provide practical suggestions for how panel

attendees can effectively leverage existing tools and materials into

their own courses and extracurricular activities.