My intro course used Modula/2. (Many years ago) We were less focused on the computer interaction (memory) than algorithmic complexity (Big O notation). This doesn't mean one method is better or worse, just what we used. The advanced algorithm coursework was all about proofs, and and had no programming.
Well usually its either Algorithms course or Analysis of algorithms course. The latter, I presume is the one that you had to take, thus giving more importance to the computations over the implementation, I suppose.
