Data Programming

This course is designed to support students who have no prior programming experience. If you have programming experience, take Intermediate Data Programming (CSE 163) instead!

Why should we learn?¶

The education you receive in this course can help prepare you for programming jobs, but this isn’t the only purpose for computing education. Education is not only about yourself and your personal gain, but also about all of us and our capacity to live together as a community.

The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Duwamish, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations. Among the traditions of the Coast Salish peoples is a value for the connectedness between all living things and a recognition of the unique ways that each of us comes to know things.

Modern education has the idea that we all need to know the same thing. At the end of the lesson, everyone will know the same thing. That’s why we have tests, that’s why we have quizzes, that’s why we have homework: to ensure we all know the same thing. And that’s powerful—that’s important—within a certain context.

But for native culture, the idea that each listener divines or finds their own answer, their own meaning, their own teaching from the story is equally powerful—that each person needs to be able to look at the world and define it for themselves within their culture and then also find a way to live in that world according to the teachings of their people in their culture.

We are responsible for each others’ success

Everyone has a right to feel like they belong in this course. We’ll need to act with compassion and caring to collaborate with each other. Although we will need more than just unexamined commitments to collaboration, listening, empathy, mindfulness, and caring, the following guidelines offer a starting point for ensuring compassion toward each other Inoue, 2022.

• Listen with intention to understand first and form an opinion only after you fully understand.

• Take responsibility for intended and unintended effects of your words and actions on others.

• Mindfully respond to others’ ideas by acknowledging the unique value of each contribution.

You should expect and demand to be treated by your classmates and teachers with respect. If any incident occurs that challenges this commitment to a supportive, diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment, please let the instructor know so the issue can be addressed. Should you feel uncomfortable bringing up an issue with the instructor directly, meet our advisors during quick questions or contact the College of Engineering.

We recognize everyone has unique circumstances

Do not hesitate to contact the instructor by private post or appointment. The sooner we are made aware of your circumstances, the more we can help. Extenuating circumstances include work-school balance, familial responsibilities, religious observations, military duties, unexpected travel, or anything else beyond your control that may negatively impact your performance in the class.

It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations, contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan.

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.

We believe everyone wants to learn

Education is about shaping your identity as much as it is about learning things. In school, the consequences of making mistakes are relatively small. But the habits you form now—repeated over days, weeks, months, or years—determine who you will be in the future. Now is the best time to practice honest habits.

We ask that you do not claim to be responsible for work that is not yours. When you receive substantial help from someone else, include a citation. Don’t post your solutions publicly. Most importantly, don’t deprive yourself or others of the learning opportunities that we’ve created in this course. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution.

Academic honesty reflects the trust (or the lack thereof) between students and teachers. We do our best to design the course in ways that ensure trust, but we know our systems are not perfect. If you submit work in violation of these policies but bring it to the attention of the instructor within 72 hours, you may resubmit your own work without further consequence. Rather than blame students, we want to fix or replace broken systems that compel students to lose trust.

How does learning occur?¶

In a traditional classroom, you attend class while a teacher lectures until time is up. Then, you go home and do the important work of applying concepts toward practice problems or assignments on your own. Finally, you take an exam to show what you know.

Today, we know that there are more effective ways to learn science, engineering, and mathematics Freeman et al., 2014. Learning skills like software engineering and algorithm analysis requires deliberate practice: a learning cycle that starts with sustained motivation, then presents tasks that build on prior knowledge, and concludes with immediate, personalized feedback. Each module in the course will involve several different activities that are designed so that we can make the most of our class time together.

In groups during class and quiz section, collaborate on the in-class guided practice.

In PollEverywhere during lecture, correctly answer all questions.

During section, participate in peer discussions to receive credit.

On your own after class, apply concepts in the programming practice and homework.

In Gradescope, submit Programming Practice to apply your learning.

In Gradescope, submit your completed Homework assignment for the week.

During some classes, complete the quest (quick test) to show what you’ve learned.

On paper, complete a 30-minute quest individually before reworking it with a group.

At the end of the quarter, complete the final exam, which reassesses concepts.

Expect to spend 4 hours in class and 8 hours outside of class working on this course. Some weeks may require more or less time than other weeks. If you find the workload is significantly exceeding this expectation, talk to your TA.

All homework and programming practice is designed to be completed with what has been taught in class. Keep your homework and programming practice within the scope of what has been taught. Work that is found to be out-of-scope will receive deductions. Repeated use of out-of-scope content is considered academic misconduct. Help from sources outside the course may be used only for clarifying concepts, supporting debugging, or explaining problems at a high level. Writeups should all be your own words and ideas; you will not be penalized for grammar or mechanics as long as we understand what you are saying and your arguments are reasonable.

Encouraged

Discussing examples shown in class. These examples are learning materials.

Working with a TA to work on a task and resolve a particular problem.

Talking with other students without sharing code or details to reproduce code.

Permitted with caution

Sharing or generating small snippets of code not specific to any assignment part.

Prohibited

Obtaining solutions to any assignment part in any form for any reason.

Giving, receiving, obtaining, or generating a walkthrough to an assignment.

Posting solutions to an assignment in a public place even after the course is over.

How do quests work?¶

A quest (quick test) is a in-person written assessment consisting of a 30-minute individual activity followed by a 15-minute group activity. Be in your assigned seat on time as we plan to begin promptly. Late arrivals will not have additional time to complete the quest. Review the following policies carefully.

Preparation

The best way to prepare is by engaging in course activities such as lecture, quiz section, homework, and programming practice. The quest may cover all ideas up to and including the last class meeting before the quest. Students are encouraged to ask questions in office hours or the discussion board.

Seating

We will email your seat assignment to your UW email the day before the quest. If you do not receive your seat assignment by the morning of the quest, write a private question here to let us know. An assigned seating preference form will be announced prior to the quest.

Format

The quest will be a single sheet of letter paper. Each quest will emphasize ideas from the preceding module but may rely on ideas from earlier in the course. Write answers only in the provided blank spaces.

Note sheets

You may bring up to 10 sheets of letter or A4-size paper notes. This limit is intended to reduce waste and improve ergonomics. Paper notes may be printed but must be your own work and respect copyright. You have permission to reproduce or bring any class materials.

Materials

Bring an erasable writing utensil, your student ID card, and any notes that you created up to the allowed limit. Student IDs will be verified at the start of the quest. During the quest, you may not use any electronic devices. Write your answers on the quest itself.

Handwriting

Handwriting that is not legible will not be evaluated, such as writing in cursive and text that wanders around the page margins. Only legible answers in the provided blank spaces will be evaluated.

Alternatives

No alternate quests will be offered. Higher scores on matching parts of the final exam will be used to replace missing quest scores.

The group activity immediately follows the individual activity and involves completing the quest again with your seat neighbors. The purpose of the group activity is to turn the quest from an assessment opportunity to a learning opportunity. Both the individual activity and group activity are graded: the individual activity is two-thirds of the quest’s final grade weight and the group activity is one-third of the quest’s final grade weight. If you score better on the individual activity, it will replace your group activity score during calculation of final grades.

How is this course graded?¶

Final grades are determined through a three-step process designed to measure your core knowledge, reward your hard work, and encourage consistent participation.

Quests and Final Exam

This is the most significant part of your grade. Each of the 3 graded quests contribute 15% toward your final grade. The final exam is worth the remaining 55% of your grade and contains 4 parts. The first 3 parts of the final exam correspond to the 3 graded quests. If your score on a part of the final is higher than your score on the matching quest, the better final part will replace your quest grade.

Quest and final exam scores will be rounded up. Each score will be rounded up to the next 10% interval. For example, any score greater than 90% on will be rounded up to 100%. Note that a score of exactly 90% remains 90%.

Homework and Programming Practice

Homework and programming practice scale the score you earned from your quests and final exam. If you complete all your homework and programming practice perfectly, you keep 100% of your score from the first step. However, if you don’t do any of the homework and programming practice at all, your score from the first step will be cut in half. Performance between 0 and 100 will scale this effect accordingly.

Homework scores will be rounded up. Each score will be rounded up to the next 10% interval. For example, any score greater than 90% on will be rounded up to 100%. Note that a score of exactly 90% remains 90%.

Programming practice scores will also be rounded up. Each score will be rounded up to the next 50% interval. For example, any score greater than 50% will be rounded up to 100%. Note that a score of exactly 50% remains 50%. The lowest-score programming practice will be dropped.

Lightweight Activities

Lightweight activities and participation determine how your final grade is rounded. By default, your grade on the 4.0 scale is rounded down to the nearest decimal point (for example, a 3.89 becomes a 3.8). If you complete at least 90% of the lightweight activities, your grade will be rounded normally instead (a 3.85 becomes a 3.9).

All coursework except for the final exam have mechanisms for demonstrating improvement. Learning in this course involves feedback loops where you try something, get feedback, and then try again. Grades are based on what you eventually learn through this process. Each homework assignment has a single resubmission period for students to improve their work.

All suspected violations of course policies on academic honesty will be reported to Community Standards & Student Conduct (CSSC) for formal investigation. Any work found to be in violation will receive no credit as we can only assess proficiency from your own honest work, and you forfeit the option to resubmit the particular assignment. If CSSC finds violations across multiple assignments, a failing grade (0.0) will be assigned.

Grades and penalties aren’t the purpose of this course. We really just want you to learn. The entire staff is very excited to be teaching CSE 160 this quarter and we want all of you to be successful here. Welcome to CSE 160!