What do you hope to learn?

You’re not alone in considering a career as a Database engineer.

Share your thoughts with your classmates!

You can use the following to guide your discussion:

• What first interested you about this course?

• What do you hope to gain from this experience?

• How does this course align with your career goals?

• Tell your classmates why you would like to learn more about Database engineering

Course syllabus: Introduction to databases

Prerequisites

To take this course, you don’t need any previous database or coding experience. However, you must be
eager to get started with coding!

Module 1

In this opening module you’ll receive an introduction to the course and explore possible career roles that
you could follow as a database engineer. You’ll also review some tips around how to take this course
successfully and discuss what it is that you hope to learn. As part of your introduction, you’ll learn about
the basics of databases and data and how they work.

You’ll then receive an introduction to SQL, or Structured Query Language, the coding syntax used to
interact with databases. Finally, you’ll explore the basic structure of databases and discover the different
types of keys they use.

Module 2

In module 2 you’ll explore CRUD, or Create, Read Update and Delete operations. You’ll begin with an
exploration of SQL data types and learn how to differentiate between numeric data, string data and default
values. You’ll also embark upon several exercises in which you’ll learn how to utilize these different data
types within your database projects.
You’ll then move on to learn how to Create and Read data within a database. You’ll discover how to create
databases and tables and populate them with data using SQL statements. Lastly, you’ll explore the SQL
statements used for updating and deleting data in a database. And to demonstrate your ability with CRUD
operations, you’ll complete exercises that will task you with creating and managing data.

Module 3

In the third module, you’ll explore SQL operators and learn how to sort and filter data. You’ll begin this
module with a lesson on SQL operators. As part of this first lesson, you’ll explore the syntax and process
steps used to deploy SQL arithmetic and comparison operators within a database.

Next, you’ll discover how to sort and filter data using clauses. The clauses that you’ll learn about include
the Order By clause, Where clause and Select Distinct clause. In each lesson item, you’ll receive an
overview of how each clause is used to sort and filter data in a database. You’ll also view demonstrations of
these clauses and then receive an opportunity to try them for yourself.

Module 4

In module four, you’ll learn about database design. In the first lesson, you’ll receive an overview of how to
design a database schema. As part of this overview, you’ll learn about basic database design concepts like
schema and find out about different types of schemas.

The next lesson focuses on relational database design. In this lesson, you’ll explore how to establish
relationships between tables in a database using keys. You’ll also learn about the different types of keys
that are used in relational database design, such as primary keys and foreign keys.

Finally, you’ll receive a lesson on database normalization. In this lesson you’ll investigate the key concepts
around database normalization. You’ll then learn about the concept of “normal form” and different types
of normal form.

Module 5

In the last module, you’ll have an opportunity to recap what you learned and identify your strengths as well
as target topics that you would like to revisit in this course.

How to be successful in this course

Taking an online course can be overwhelming. How do you learn at your own pace and successfully
achieve your goals?
Here are some general tips that can help you stay focused and on track:

1. Set daily goals for studying

Ask yourself what you hope to accomplish in your course each day. Setting a clear goal can help you stay
motivated and beat procrastination. The goal should be specific and easy to measure, such as “I’ll watch all
the videos in Module 2 and complete the first programming assignment.” And don’t forget to reward
yourself when you make progress towards your goal!

2. Create a dedicated study space

It’s easier to recall information if you’re in the same place where you first learned it, so having a dedicated
space at home to take online courses can make your learning more effective. Remove any distractions from
the space, and if possible, make it separate from your bed or sofa. A clear distinction between where you
study and where you take breaks can help you focus.

3. Schedule time to study on your calendar

Open your calendar and choose a predictable, reliable time that you can dedicate to watching lectures and
completing assignments. This helps ensure that your courses won’t become the last thing on your to-do
list.

Tip: You can add deadlines for a Coursera course to your Google calendar, Apple calendar, or another
calendar app.

4. Keep yourself accountable

Tell your friends about the courses you’re taking, post achievements to your social media accounts, or blog
about your homework assignments. Having a community and support network of friends and family to
cheer you on makes a difference!

5. Actively take notes

Taking notes can promote active thinking, boost comprehension, and extend your attention span. It’s a
good strategy to internalize knowledge whether you’re learning online or in the classroom. So, grab a
notebook or find a digital app that works best for you and start synthesizing key points.

Tip: While watching a lecture on Coursera, you can click the 'Save Note' button below the video to save a
screenshot to your course notes and add your own comments.

6. Join the discussion

Course discussion forums are a great place to ask questions about assignments, discuss topics, share
resources, and make friends. Our research shows that learners who participate in the discussion forums
are 37% more likely to complete a course. So make a post today!

7. Do one thing at a time

Multitasking is less productive than focusing on a single task at a time. Researchers from Stanford
University found that “People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information
cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete
one task at a time.” Stay focused on one thing at a time. You’ll absorb more information and complete
assignments with greater productivity and ease than if you were trying to do many things at once.

8. Take breaks

Resting your brain after learning is critical to high performance. If you find yourself working on a
challenging problem without much progress for an hour, take a break. Walking outside, taking a shower, or
talking with a friend can help you to re-energize and even give you new ideas on how to tackle that project.

Your learning journey starts now!

While preparing for the module quiz or working on achieving your learning goals we encourage you to:

Work through each lesson in the learning pathway. Try not to skip any activities or lessons unless you are
certain that you already know this information well enough to move ahead.

Take the opportunity to go back and watch a video or read the further information provided before moving
on to the next lesson or module.

Complete all the Knowledge and Module quizzes and exercises.

Read the feedback carefully when answering quizzes as this will help you to reinforce what you are
learning.

Make use of the practical learning environment provided by the exercises. You can gain substantial
reinforcement of your learning through the step-by-step application of your skills.