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Individual Course

Introduction to Computational Thinking

Course Length

5 weeks

2–4 hours per week

Featuring faculty from:

Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences LogoHarvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Enroll as Individual

HarvardX Certificate:

$120

On demand

Enroll on edX

Enroll as Individual

HarvardX Certificate:

$120

On demand

Enroll on edX

Learn to Solve Real-World Problems with Python and Generative AI

Build the skills to solve real-world problems with computation, even if you have no prior programming experience. This introductory course takes a problem-first approach to computational thinking, guiding you through a series of approachable challenges that develop practical skills in problem solving, Python programming, and generative AI.

You’ll learn how to break down problems into manageable parts, design computational solutions, and translate those solutions into Python code. Along the way, you’ll work with text files, loops, character encodings, and abstraction. You’ll also explore how generative AI chatbots can support computational work by helping you write, understand, and troubleshoot simple code.

Rather than focusing on memorizing programming syntax in isolation, the course uses hands-on challenges to introduce the concepts and techniques you’ll need to become a more confident and capable computational problem-solver.

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Ways to take this course

Audit or Pursue a Verified Certificate

A Verified Certificate costs $120 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.

⁠Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.

Faculty

Your Instructor

Michael D. Smith

Michael D. Smith is the John H. Finley, Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard University. He spent 11 years as the Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, leading Harvard’s oldest and largest school. Smith was actively involved in the launch of edX, and served on its board from 2012 to 2018. Earlier in his career, he spent time in industry building a range of computing hardware for Honeywell Information Systems and, in 2001, co-founded the data security company Liquid Machines, which was acquired in 2010 by Check Point Software Technologies. While at Harvard, he received a prestigious National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award and the Alpha Iota Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

Your Instructor

Kitty Ascrizzi

Preceptor in Computer Science at Harvard University.