Experiences with CS2 and data structures in the 100 problems format

A dissatisfaction appears to permeate the process of educating computer science students. Both students and instructors seem uninspired in the classroom, resulting in many attempts to enliven, freshen, and improve the experience. These attempts show efficacy, but the pace of improvement is slow. 100 Problems (100P) is an innovative guided discovery curriculum in which students are freed from the classroom and instead work on 100 concept- and research-related problems throughout their undergraduate careers. The 100 problems guide the students to discover the fundamental knowledge and skills required of a graduate of the degree program. Each student is free to create an individualized mode of learning and discovery. As such, the curriculum fosters deep learning among students and challenges students' intellectual growth. In this paper we introduce the 100P curriculum, describe the 100P course format and our experiences offering courses in this format, and report our early findings.