The Inverted Curriculum: Teaching Programming from the Outside-In

Speaker:  Bertrand Meyer – Zurich, Switzerland
Topic(s):  Human Computer Interaction , Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Natural language processing , Software Engineering and Programming , Computational Theory, Algorithms and Mathematics , Society and the Computing Profession , Applied Computing

Abstract

Based on fourteen years of introductory programming at ETH Zurich, this lecture details the "inverted curriculum" or "outside-in" approach. Rather than beginning with low-level primitives (bits, bytes, and loops), students start as "consumers" of high-quality, pre-built libraries. They learn to interface with complex systems through contracts (preconditions and postconditions) before eventually descending into the "engine room" to implement their own structures. This method emphasizes architectural thinking and software quality from day one, leveraging the Eiffel language and the "Touch of Class" pedagogical framework to bridge the gap between abstract mathematical logic and industrial-strength programming.

About this Lecture

Number of Slides:  30
Duration:  minutes
Languages Available:  English, French, German, Italian, Russian
Last Updated:  27/02/2026

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