CSE 390Z Syllabus

This is a temporary summary syllabus.

Course Goals

CSE 390Z is a workshop designed to provide academic support to students enrolled concurrently CSE 311. 311 concepts are at the core of computer science, but they are different from what many students have experienced in CS courses before. During each 1.5-hour workshop section for CSE 390Z, students will reinforce concepts through collaborative problem solving, practice study skills and effective learning habits, and build community for peer support. All students enrolled in CSE 311 are welcome to register for this class.

Course content

The workshop is organized around a large set of math problems about 311 content. In workshop, students work together on some of these problems. The graded components of the workshop are the following.

Outside of class

  • Mini assignments (~1 hour each)
    • About half of these are correcting problems you got wrong in 311, and the other half are our own assignments (e.g. a reading and a couple questions about it).
  • A reflection on each 311 homework (~30 minutes each)
In class
  • Explanations of quick checks and time for students to work on problems together and receive support from TAs and the instructor
Extra credit
  • We will hold one study session outside of class, before the 311 final homework is due. It will count as extra credit.

Grading

To get credit for this class you must:
  • Participate in at least 7 of the 9 class periods (first class not included; description below)
  • Score at least an 80%
Final grades are calculated roughly as follows
15% Quick checks [graded on completion]
20% Participation in class [graded on completion]
40% Homeworks [graded on effort]
20% Reflections [graded on effort]
5% Discussion Board Participation [graded on completion]

Participation

In order to accommodate students on a variety of time schedules there will be two ways to gain participation in this course.

  1. One is by attending the class at the time listed, working on problems with other students during this time, and checking in at least a couple of these problems with a TA or the instructor. This is the way that we recommend you participate to get the most benefit out of the course.
  2. For students who are in a different time zone for whom the arranged time does not work, they may gain participation points via completing at least 2 workshop problems with a group of other students at an arranged time. You will then need to submit the problems you worked on, a screenshot of you working on those problems with other people via zoom or another platform, and the names of those you worked with (you can work with others in 311 who are not in our course). Problems will be posted on the website starting at the beginning of workshop each week and students will have until Saturday at noon PST to do this.

Quick Checks

Quick checks are short assessments like quizzes that will allow you to test your 311 knowledge. In order to maximize our workshop time, you will complete your quick check on gradescope. A quick check will be open from 3:30pm PST Wednesday until before class at 3:30 on Thursday so we can discuss the quick check in class. You will be given 25 minutes to complete the quick check (these problems are meant to take 10 minutes max so the extra time is for any submission problems.) You may complete the quick check with up to two other people via zoom (you will each need to turn in your own) and you must list the names of your collaborators. In order to get the most benefit, we recommend that you attempt to complete these closed notes. You are graded on effort/completion for these so if you cannot figure out an answer that is OK.

Homeworks

Homeworks for this class consist of homework corrections on previous 311 homeworks to increase your understanding of what you missed and assignments that consist of readings or videos plus reflection questions.

Discussion Board Participation

In order to encourage a stronger online community and to increase understanding within 311 and 390z, we require question or answer participation on the 390z discussion board. You will need to do 8 substantive posts throughout the quarter. You can ask about 390z or 311 concepts. We will ask you to direct homework specific questions to the 311 discussion board.

Course resources

  • This website: The central source of info about what's going on in the class
  • Canvas: grades are posted here as well as files for download
  • Gradescope: We'll use this to recieve submissions and provide feedback
  • Ed: we will use Ed for questions and discussions
  • Poll Everywhere: We will use poll everywhere to get an idea of how students feel about material during class and to gather questions during our time. Our link is PollEv.com/cse390z.
  • Zoom: We will be using zoom to conduct class this quarter. Here is information on setting it up. I highly recommend that you try a test meeting to check your connectivity. If you have any questions about using Zoom this quarter, please see this FAQ or Zoom support
  • Office hours: All course staff have office hours, and we love receiving your questions. Note that we cannot answer 311 homework questions during office hours out of fairness to all students in 311 but we are happy to work on workshop probleems, answer section problems or lecture problems, and to provide explanations of a variety of concepts.

Accomodations

We want this course to be approachable and accessible by all 311 students. Let the instructor know if you require accommodations for disability, mental health, religious activity, or matters of conscience.

If any incident occurs that challenges our commitment to a supportive and inclusive environment, please let the instructor know so the issue can be addressed.

Late Work

Late work is not accepted unless under special circumstances. If you need to turn in an assignment late under special circumstances, please email the instructor to schedule a meeting PRIOR to when the assignment is due in which we can discuss and determine if extra time is needed.

Academic Conduct

Do not use someone else's words or ideas without giving them credit. Reminder that the 311 collaboration policy can be found here

CSE 390z Zoom Norms and Best Practices

  • If you are new to Zoom, you can always start your own call to get familiar with the interface!
  • Be respectful of one another and to the course staff! Anything you would say or do in a Zoom call should match your behavior in-person! Be kind to everyone and think carefully about how your written messages come off in terms of tone. Some examples:
    • When writing out messages in a chat, it's usually convenient to make your messages short. However, short messages can sometimes come off as having an angry or dissatisfied tone, so think carefully about how someone will read the message you send!
    • Would you chew on cereal next to my ear while we were talking in my office hours? I would hope not! Mute your mic if you are chewing on food or making other noise, or if possible, save the meal for after the meeting!
  • To the best of your ability, you should choose an appropriate space for joining into a Zoom call. A place where you can focus and won't be disturbed is ideal. If this is not feasible, try to use headphones to block out some noise around you and if possible use a headset with a microphone to avoid picking up as much noise around you as possible. Maybe see if you can coordinate with housemates to minimize noise and internet access during an important Zoom call to save bandwidth and reduce noise.
  • While you are not talking or sharing during a meeting, you should have your audio muted. You should get into the practice of muting/unmuting yourself as appropriate to avoid audio-feedback (and to signal to others that you are trying to say something). If you are sharing your video, try to make sure your background is not distracting. If possible, face the camera so your background is a plain background.
  • During large group meetings (i.e. not in a breakout or in a small group) you should not turn on your microphone and speak unless called on to avoid unnecessary interruption. You are encouraged to use the chat feature to message the course staff and other students in the room to ask questions, answer someone else's question, or comment on something the speaker is saying. We will almost always have at least one other course staff member monitoring the chat to help answer questions or let the current speaker know they should answer something in the chat. You are welcome to use the icons like "raise hand", "yes", etc. that Zoom provides, but those are generally harder to spot while presenting. We recommend using the chat instead!
  • When we go to Zoom's Breakout Rooms, you should start by unmuting your microphone and turning on your video (if possible) and introduce yourself to your group mates! If neither of those options are possible, introduce yourself in the chat! It is probably best if you decide on one person to share their screen to pull up the problem we are working on so everyone can do it together!
    • When someone shares a screen in Zoom, it will make the Zoom app on your computer go into full screen mode. You can always press the Escape key on your computer to get Zoom to go back into windowed mode.

Acknowledgements

We thank Lauren Bricker for serving as an advisor for this course and Emina Torlack and Sami Davies for supporting as the 311 professors. Adam Blank, David Eck, Michael Lee, Lucy Jiang, Natalie Parry, Philip Garrison, and Melissa Hovik shared or created materials and problems for the workshop.