Spring 2027

Problem Solving Using Computers

An introduction to problem solving using computers, covering elementary programming, symbolic manipulation, and algorithms for engineering applications.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 5

Past student reviews · Beck Hasti

Exams and homework could be difficult at times, though the overall effort was considered worth it.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

MATH 222, graduate/professional standing, or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

    • MATH 222
    • graduate/professional standing
    • declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals
    take one
COMPSCI 310 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of
    • MATH 222
    • graduate/professional standing
    • declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

BECK HASTI is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DEBRA DEPPELER is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.

Meeting source records

No records available.

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Beck Hasti

Beck Hasti explained content clearly, making the course understandable for students with no prior programming experience.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2019: 3.07 GPA, 38.7% A/AB (n=217 letter grades); Spring 2020: 3.32 GPA, 51.8% A/AB (n=168 letter grades); Spring 2022: 3.15 GPA, 56.8% A/AB (n=81 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Beck Hasti

Exams and homework could be difficult at times, though the overall effort was considered worth it.

Past student reviews · Beck Hasti

Students appreciated that the instructor went over examples and answered questions during lectures and labs.

Topics

  • Elementary programming techniques
  • Symbolic manipulation languages
  • Software packages
  • Sample problems from elementary engineering
  • Algorithms

Skills

  • Introduction to computer and analytical skills
  • Elementary programming techniques, symbolic manipulation languages, and software packages
  • Introduction of algorithms using specific tools

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2022— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2022

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2022 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1168 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records

No offering records for the selected term.

Raw records 
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Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
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Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "4a70475c0345eca97f72102b254026a4d793d7cca6f35151c2ceb49790e72e38",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}