Final Reflection

Be on time! We will aim to start promptly in order to give as much time as possible to complete the final reflection. No matter when you arrive, we will “call time” (pencils down, hand in reflections) exactly 110 minutes after starting. As such, if you arrive late, you get less time!

What to bring¶

• Yourself!
• Your Husky Card (we will check these!)
• A writing utensil (pencil or pen with blue/black ink), writing supplies as necessary (e.g., eraser, sharpener, correction tape)
• Water

Format¶

This is a hand-written reflection, meaning that no electronic devices are allowed, including phones, laptops, or tablets. The final reflection is closer to a timed essay than a traditional exam; as such, you will not be expected to do any coding or arithmetic.

Prompts¶

During the final reflection, you will be responsible for answering 2 required questions, and then answering 1 of 3 choice questions. You will not receive credit for answering more than 1 of the 3 choice prompts, but you are welcome to do so! In total, you will be writing for 3 prompts.

All prompts are open-ended and have no prescribed or correct answers. We want to hear your honest thoughts and responses for each of these!

1. (Required) Choose two concepts, skills, or ideas from this course and reflect on how you might apply them in your life or future work. Be specific! Rather than saying “I learned X and I’ll use it for Y,” dig into the how and why. What would it actually look like to use these things? What problems might they help you solve, and why are you the kind of person who might encounter those problems?
2. (Required) This quarter, we piloted several new elements that haven’t been part of this course before: reading assignments, creative components, peer feedback, a portfolio option, and this final reflection. Choose one of these and reflect honestly on how it affected your experience and learning this quarter. There’s no right answer here! Critical feedback is just as valuable to us as positive feedback, and we’d genuinely like to know what worked and what didn’t.
3. (Choice) Which homework assignment from this quarter was your favorite, and why? You might write about what you learned while doing it, what you would do differently now that the course is behind you, what surprised you about it, or something else entirely. What made it stand out from the rest?
4. (Choice) Describe a moment this quarter when an interaction with a classmate or TA shifted how you thought about a concept, an assignment, a problem you were stuck on, or your approach to programming more broadly. What happened, and why did it stick with you?
5. (Choice) Think back to why you enrolled in this course, even if the answer is simply “it was a requirement.” Did the course meet your expectations? Did you get more out of it than you anticipated, or less? How did what you actually experienced compare to what you thought you were signing up for?

Writing¶

As stated above, there are no right answers to any of the prompts. You will be writing 3 responses in 110 minutes, which leaves you with roughly 35 minutes per question. As such, we do not expect long essays! You will be given 2 pages for each of your answers, and we will not have scratch/extra paper. We recommend writing about 2-3 paragraphs for each response, but your actual answers may be longer or shorter.

Preparation¶

Although the final reflection is an in-person, hand-written exam, it is not meant to be a stressful or high-pressure experience. There are no trick questions, no correct answers, and nothing to memorize. The prompts are designed to give you space to reflect honestly on your own experience in the course.

That said, we do encourage you to think about your answers ahead of time! Since the prompts are available to you now, there’s no reason not to come in with ideas already forming. Before the exam, you might consider:

• Which two concepts, skills, or ideas from the course have been most meaningful or useful to you?
• Which of the new course elements had the biggest impact on your learning, positively or negatively?
• Which of the three choice prompts feels most compelling to you, and what specific moments or details might you draw on?

You won’t be able to bring notes into the exam, but spending even a few minutes thinking through these questions beforehand can make a big difference in how confident and prepared you feel when you sit down to write!

Finally, don’t stress about length! 2-3 paragraphs per prompt is plenty. We’re not looking for polished essays; we’re looking for genuine, thoughtful reflection. The best responses are ones that feel like they could only have been written by you!

Grading¶

The final reflection will be graded out of 90 points, with 30 points per response. (The three choice prompts are equally weighted; there is no penalty or bonus for choosing one over another.) Each response will be graded according to the points breakdown below:

Writing Tips¶

We genuinely believe that everyone can earn a 90 out of 90 on this reflection. Here are a few tips for thinking about how you will address each of the grading dimensions!

Relevance

• Read the prompt carefully before you start writing, and re-read it once you’ve finished to make sure your response actually answers what was asked.
• If you find yourself going on a tangent, ask yourself: “does this directly support my answer to the prompt?” If not, cut it or refocus.
• For the choice prompts, make sure the prompt you selected is one you actually have something to say about! For planning, think about what examples or details you might talk about, and pick the prompt that feels most compelling to you. Your pick of the choice prompts does not affect your grade.

Clarity

• Write in complete sentences, and organize your thoughts before you start. Even a quick 2-3 line outline can help your response flow more logically!
• Avoid vague filler phrases like “it was really interesting” or “I learned a lot.” If you catch yourself writing something like that, push yourself to say what specifically was interesting or what specifically you learned.
• Read your response back to yourself as if you’re the grader, who didn’t have the same experience of the course that you did. Would they be able to follow what you’re saying?

Specificity

• Name things! Instead of “an assignment,” say which assignment, like “THA 3” or “Reading Assignment 2”. You don’t have to name specific people in the course, but do tell us about specific moments or conversations. The more concrete you are, the stronger your response will be.
• If your answer could have been written by any student in any class, it’s probably too generic. Ground your response in something only you could have written.
• Ask yourself “so what?” after each main point. Follow up with why that point mattered to you.
• If your sentence or description could end with “…and that was cool” or “…and that was useful”, keep writing. Why would something have been cool or useful?