JavaScript Essentials 1

Scope and Sequence

Version 1.0

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 Contents
Target Audience 3

Prerequisites 3

Certification Alignment 3

Course Description 3

Course Objectives 3

Equipment Requirements 5

Course Outline 6

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 Target Audience
The JavaScript Essentials 1 curriculum is designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of programming:
students of secondary school, university, vocational school, or simply anyone interested in learning programming.

Prerequisites
There are no specific prerequisites for this course except motivation and very basic knowledge in mathematics. The
main goal of the course is to introduce the student to computer programming using JavaScript from the state of
complete programming illiteracy to a level that will allow them to start their own studies at an intermediate level
and continue their journey with programming.

Certification Alignment
The JavaScript Essentials 1 curriculum helps students prepare for the JSE – Certified Entry-Level JavaScript
Programmer Certification.

JSE – Certified Entry-Level JavaScript Programmer certification is a professional credential that demonstrates the
candidate’s understanding of the JavaScript language core syntax and semantics, as well as their proficiency in using
the most essential elements of the language, tools, and resources to design, develop, and refactor simple JavaScript
programs.

The certification holder knows the syntax of the core JavaScript language to a degree that allows them to work with
variables, operators, control flow mechanisms, and functions, as well as understands the fundamentals of the
JavaScript data type system, exception handling, troubleshooting, debugging, and the runtime environment.

Moreover, the certified individual understands the universal concepts of computer programming and a
programmer’s work and role in the software development process; knows how to apply best coding practices and
conventions; thinks algorithmically and is able to analyze a problem using a programmatic conceptual apparatus.

Becoming JSE certified ensures that the individual is acquainted with the most essential means provided by the core
JavaScript language to enable them to start their own studies at an intermediate level, and to continue their
professional development.

Course Description
The JavaScript Essentials 1 course introduces the student to some universal computer programming concepts, such
as data types, type casting, containers, comments, operators, conditional execution, loops, functions, errors,
exceptions, troubleshooting, and code debugging. The course guides the student step-by-step to understanding and
using the core JavaScript language to design, build, and improve simple JavaScript programs.

Course Objectives
Completing the course ensures that the student is equipped with the most essential means provided by the core
JavaScript language to enable them to start their own studies at an intermediate level and continue their
professional development.

Module 1

After completing Module 1, the student will:

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 • understand the fundamental programming concepts, such as: interpreting and the interpreter, compilation
and the compiler, client-side vs. server-side programming.
• have basic knowledge of how to set up and use the basic programming environment (online or local).
• gain skills allowing them to run their first JavaScript program on the client side (both as an element
embedded in the HTML page and directly in the browser console).

Module 2

After completing Module 2, the student will:

• have the knowledge and skills to work with variables (i.e. naming, declaring, initializing and modifying their
values).
• understand concepts such as scope, code blocks, shadowing, and hoisting.
• know the basic properties of primitive data types such as Boolean, number, bigint, undefined, null, and be
able to use them.
• be familiar with the basic properties of the primitive data type string, including string literals – single or
double quotes, the escape character, string interpolation, basic properties and methods.
• know the basic properties of complex data types such as Array and Object (treated as a record) and be able
to use them in practice.

Module 3

After completing Module 3, the student will:

• know what operators are and how to classify them (by type of operand, by number of operands, etc.).
• be able to use assignment, arithmetic, logical, and comparison operators in practice.
• understand the operation of the conditional operator and the typeof, instanceof, and delete operators.
• understand what the precedence and associativity of basic operators are and be able to influence them by
means of bracket grouping.
• be able to perform basic two-way communication with the program user using the alert, confirm, and
prompt dialog boxes.

Module 4

After completing Module 4, the student will:

• be able to force conditional execution of a group of statements (make decisions and branch the flow) using
if-else and switch commands.
• be able to force a group of statements to repeat in a loop using the for, while, and do-while commands,
using both dependent and independent conditions on the number of iterations
• understand and be able to use loop-specific break and continue instructions.
• be able to use the for-in statement to iterate over the properties of an object.
• be able to use the for-of statement to walk through the elements of an array.

Module 5

After completing Module 5, the student will:

• be able to declare and call functions.
• know how to pass call arguments to a function and return the result of its operation from it.

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 • understand the concept of a local variable and the effect of shadowing variables with the same names
within a function.
• know that a function in JS is a first-class member and be able to take advantage of this by declaring
functions using function expressions and passing functions as arguments to calls of other functions.
• understand the concept of recursion in the context of functions and be able to solve simple programming
problems by using it.
• have a basic understanding of the callback function and be able to use it asynchronously in conjunction with
the setTimeout and setInterval methods.
• have a clear understanding of arrow function notation and be able to write alternative functions as regular
declarations, function expressions, and arrow functions.

Module 6

After completing Module 6, the student will:

• gain an understanding of the differences between syntactic, semantic, and logical errors.
• understand the concept of an exception and distinguish between the basic exceptions generated by JS when
an error occurs: SyntaxError, ReferenceError, TypeError, RangeError.
• have the ability to handle exceptions using the try-catch-finally statement.
• be able to generate their own exceptions using the throw statement.
• have the skills to use the debugger for basic analysis of their own code, including step-by-step execution,
viewing and modifying variables, measuring code execution time.

Equipment Requirements
The course contents, including the course modules, labs, quizzes, and assessments can be accessed online through
any Internet browser. For the best learning experience, we recommend using the most recent versions of Mozilla
Firefox, Internet Explorer/Microsoft Edge, or Google Chrome (recommended).

Minimum Technical Recommendations:

• A desktop computer with a mouse/touchpad and a regular keyboard

• An Internet browser (e.g. Google Chrome)
• Internet connection
• Screen size: 13 inches or more.

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 Course Outline
The JavaScript Essentials 1 course is divided into six modules, each of them consisting of multiple sections. Every
module concludes with a brief quiz and a Module Test. At the end of each section, the student can perform various
programming-related tasks, and put in practice the concepts they have learned. Additionally, modules 2-5 include
labs, which cover the topic areas discussed in multiple sections.

Module Title Description

Module 1 • About JavaScript (how to communicate with the computer, what is

Introduction to JavaScript and JS, advantages and limitations of JS, where is JS used today)
Computer Programming • Setting up the programming environment (development tools,
online development environment, local development environment)
• First JS program – Hello, World! (a few words about HTML, how to
run your JavaScript code, executing the code directly in the console)

Module 2 • Variables (naming, declaring and initializing variables, declarations

Variables, Data Types, Type and strict mode, changing variable values, constants, scope)
Casting, and Comments • Primitive data types (Boolean, Number, BigInt, String, undefined,
null, type casting – primitive construction functions and primitive
conversions, implicit conversions)
• Complex data types (Object, Array, basic Array properties and
methods)
• Comments (single-line comments, multi-line comments,
documentation)

Module 3 • Assignment, arithmetic, and logical operators (what are operators,

Operators and User Interaction assignment operators, arithmetic operators, logical operators,
compound assignment operators)
• Strings, JS operators including comparison operators (string
concatenation and compound assignments, comparison operators,
conditional operators, typeof, instanceof and delete operators,
operator precedence)
• Interacting with the user (dialog boxes – alert, confirm, prompt)

Module 4 • Conditional execution (what is conditional execution, the if–else

Control Flow – Conditional statement, the conditional operator, the switch–case statement)
Execution and Loops • Loops (what are loops, the while loop, the do–while loop, the for
loop, the for–of loop, the for–in loop, the break and continue
statements)

Module 5 • Function basics (what are functions, declaring functions, calling

Functions functions, local variables, the return statement, function
parameters, shadowing)

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 • Functions as first-class members (function expressions, passing a
function as a parameter, callbacks)
• Arrow functions (declaring and calling)
• Recursion (basic idea)

Module 6 • Errors and exceptions – introduction (natural languages and

Errors, exceptions, debugging, communication errors, errors vs. exceptions, errors without
and troubleshooting exceptions, limited confidence)
• Basic types of errors in JS (SyntaxError, ReferenceError, TypeError,
RangeError)
• Exception handling (the try–catch statement, the finally statement,
the throw statement, and custom errors)
• Code debugging and troubleshooting (what is debugging, step-by-
step execution, viewing and modifying variables, the step out
option, measuring code execution time)

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