ReflectionsonTeaching2016-2017

Belowisananalysisofmyteachingoverthepastyear.Itisbasedonreflectionandcourseevaluations.Foreachcourse,youwillfindagraphofthecourseevaluationresults(metrics10-30),aselectionofcommentsfromtheevaluations,andmyreflectionsonpedagogy.Alistofthewordingofeachcourseevaluationmetricsisgivenintheappendixandacompletelistofthecommentsfromtheevaluationscanbefoundinthedocumenttitled“2016-2017CourseEvaluationComments”.

CSCI-105IntroductiontoProgramming(Fall,26students)

SelectedStudentComments

1. Providingexamplesofcodeduringlecturescontributedmosttomylearningbecauseitgavemeabasistogooffof.

2. Idevelopedcriticalthinkingandproblemsolvingskillsthroughcodinganderrorsreceivedinmycoding.

3. Ithoughtthiscoursewasprettywellstructured.TheonlywayIthinkthiscoursecouldbeimprovedwouldbewithmoreexamplesbecausethatseemstohelpme.

ReflectionsFantasticClass:Firsttimetaught,enthusiasticstudentsandgreatdiscussionsinlecture.

Igavetraditionallecturesduringeachclassofthiscourse.OnWednesday’sIprovidedasheetcontainingreviewquestionscoveringthematerialintheprevious3lecturesandonFridayIadministeredaquizusingquestionssimilartothequestionsonthereviewsheet.Thecoursewasrunconsistentlythroughoutthesemester.Studentsknewwhattoexpectanddevelopedaroutine.Thecoursesyllabus,mylecturenotes,andthereviewexerciseswerepostedonacoursewebsite.Ikeptattendancethroughoutthesemesterandeverystudentthatpassedthecourse(75%oftheclass)hadperfectattendance.Duringlectures,Ifocusedonsyntaxandsemantics.Allofthelectureexamples,reviewquestions,quizquestionsandtestquestionswererudimentary.Theuseofrudimentaryexamplesallowsstudentstofocus(inthelimitedtimewehave)ontheusageandcapabilitiesofthelanguage.Ibelieveusingmorecomplexproblemsasexamplesinanintroductorycoursecanleavemanystudentsbewilderedandlostbecausetheycan’tunderstandthecode.Duringlab,studentsworkedonsetsofproblemsthatrequiredtheutilizationofsyntaxandlanguageconstructspreviouslydiscussedinlecture.Theproblemsrangedfromtrivialtochallenging.Thechallengingproblemswerediscussedwiththeclassandpseudo-codeandsuggestionsweregiven.Forlab,IutilizedKattis,anonlineservicethatstudentsusetoretrieveproblemdescriptionsandchecktheirsolutionsforcorrectness.Kattisalsoidentifiessolutionsthataresimilartothosealreadysubmittedasawayofidentifyingplagiarism.DuringthecourseIsenttwostudentstotheHonor’sCouncilforplagiarismandbothwerefoundguiltyandsanctioned.StudentslearnedtowritecodeusingtheVimeditoronthecollegeLinuxservercs.bridgewater.edu.TheylearnedhowtonavigatetheLinuxfilesystemandexecutecommandsonthecommandline.OnesuchcommandwasascriptthatuploadedtheircodetoKattisandreturnedaresult.So,withinseconds,studentscouldcheckiftheirsolutionswerecorrectornot.Thegradedistributionforthecoursewasasfollows:A(6),B(3),C(3),D(3),F(5).Ibelievethestudentsthatfailedthecoursewerecapableofpassingatthetimeofthemidterm(midtermgrades:66,80,57,59,65),howeverbecausemostweren’twillingtoorabletoputinthenecessarytimetoprepareforthequizzesanddothelabs,theyweren’tabletograspmostoftheconceptstaughtinthesecondhalfofthesemester.Inthefuture,thispointshouldbediscussedwiththestudentsatmidtermsotheyunderstandthecommitmentnecessarytosucceedinthiscourseandinCSgenerally.PhilosophyonAssessmentinIntroductoryCoursesIbelieveitisimportantthatfacultyassessstudentsrigorouslyinCSCI-105andCSCI-200tohelpensurethatstudentsthatmakeitpastCSCI-200willbesuccessfulinthemajor.Itshouldbe

rarethatCSmajorsfailcoursesaboveCSCI-200.I’vetoooftenhadstudentsinupperlevelcoursesstudentsthateitherdon’thavetheintellectualcapacityorthenecessaryworkethictobesuccessfulinthemajor.Asaresult,toooften,studentshavefailedupper-divisioncourses,requiringmetoteachsummersessioncoursesorworse,forcingthestudenttoabandontheirpursuitofadegreeatBridgewaterCollege.Ibelievethatwedoadisservicetothestudentanddamagethereputationoftheprogramandourinstitutionwhenwe“passthrough”studentsthatarenotproficientatsoftwaredevelopment.Afterthisyear’sgraduationceremony,Ivisitedwithastudentthatgraduatedtwoyearsagoafterbeing“passedthrough”ourprogram.Hewasveryforth-comingandtoldmethathisfirstpositionaftergraduationwasasaprogrammeratBankofAmericaandthathelosthisjobafter6monthsbecausehewasn’tabletodothework.He’snowworkingatahelpdesk.Iwonderifthestudent’sself-esteemhassufferedbecauseofouractions.IwonderifhewouldhavebeenbetterservedifwenavigatedhimtotheISMorothermajor.IwonderifourreputationatBankofAmericahassufferedbecauseofouractionsandwhetheritwillaffectfuturegraduateswhopursuejobsatBankofAmerica.Ialsounderstandtheimportanceofretention.Itaffectstheinstitutionsfinancialwell-beinganditsreputation.Ibelievethatthecollegeisbetterabletoretainunderperformingstudentsifwearehonestwiththembyprovidinganhonestassessmentoftheirworkandprovidethemwithalternatepathstowardsgraduation.

CSCI-200IntermediateProgramming(Fall,6students)

SelectedStudentComments

1. IbecamemuchbetteratcodingbecauseIdidn'tgettoleanonthecompilertohelpme.Notbeingabletousecomputersduringlectureswasagreatidea

2. WhenwestartedlookingupjavaclassesIcouldn'tunderstandhowtheyworkedfromtheJava8website,soearlyonthecoursewasverychallenging.Maybejustwalkthroughandexplainhowtolookoneup/Java8websitenavigation.

ReflectionsSlowandSteady:difficultconcepts,challengingthoughtfulstudentquestions.ThiswasthefirstsemesterthatItaughtCSCI-200andthefirsttimewe’veofferedthecourseintheFall.ByofferingCSCI-200intheFallweallowstudentswhotakeCSCI-105intheSpring,becausethey’relatestartingthemajorortheyfailedthecourseintheFall,tocatchuptotheircohortandpossiblygraduatein4years.Ibelievethecoursewentwell.I,likeinCSCI-105,clearlyexpressedmyexpectationsandthestudentsdidwelltowardmeetingthem.Thecoursematerials(syllabus,lecturenotes,reviewsheets,andlabs)werepostedonacoursewebsitewhichthestudentshadaccessto.Igavetraditionallecturesduringclassandfiveofthesixstudentswereveryattentiveandaskedverygoodquestionsthroughoutthesemester.FortheLab,projectswereassignedthatweredesignedtotakeonaverageabout2weekstocomplete.DuringLab,Iworkedtheroomtohelpstudentsdesigntheirsolutionsanddebugtheircode.Twoofthe6studentsinthecoursefailed.Onehad8absencesanddidnottakethefinalexam.Theotherreceiveda17/100onthefinalexamandwentontoreceiveaBinthecoursewhenheretookthecourseintheSpringsemesterwithDr.Leininger.Idonotbelieveanysubstantialchangesneedtobemadeinmypedagogyforthiscourseatthistime.

CSCI-205DataStructures(Fall,19students)

SelectedStudentComments

1. Theprogrammingassignment[project]wasagreatcallbytheprofessor.I'mhappythathewasabletoevaluatethestudentsintheclassandadjustthesyllabusaccordingtothestudent'sneeds.

2. Thiswasmyfirsttimeworkingonaprogrammingassignmentwithagroupofstudents.Idevelopedskillsthatwillhelpmewithlargegroupprojectslikethisinthefuture.TheseskillsareparticularlyimportantbecauseintheworkforceIwilllikelybeprogrammingwithagroupofindividuals.

3. Ireallyappreciatetheinstructorsrespectforstudents.Hetreatsusascolleagueswhichisrefreshingwhileincollege.Heunderstandsthatstudentshavealotontheirplatesandwilladjustduedatesasneeded.

4. Personally,Iwouldn'tmindafewmorelecturesinadditiontoourgroupprojecttime.Ienjoyedmanyofthelecturesfromthebeginningofthesemesterbutagreethatthegroupprojectwasawelcomechangeofpace.

5. Ireallydidenjoythisclass.IwishwehadgoneoverHashmapsandgenericsmore.Iamstillalittleunsureonthosetopics.

6. Iwishwecouldhavemoregrouphomeworkinasensewhereourclassmatescouldteachuswhattheyknow.

ReflectionsChangeisGood:lackofstudentengagementdictatedchangeinpedagogy.Thiscoursehasalwaysbeenchallengingforme,andtheFall2016semesterwasnoexception.DuringthefirsthalfofthesemesterIgavetraditionallectures.TheselecturescoveredtheconventionaltopicslikeLinkedLists,Stacks,Queues,andGenerics.Aroundmidterm,Inoticedthatthemajorityofthestudentsinclasswerebecomingincreasinglylethargicduringlecture.Theywerenotattentiveandveryfewwereaskingquestions.Ithereforedecidedtochangemyapproachtoteachingtheremainingmaterialinthecourse.Igavetheclassachoiceoflisteningtomedeliverlecturesontheremainingmaterialorworkingonteamprojects.Theyunanimouslychosetoworkonteamprojects.So,fortheremainderofthesemester,Ilecturedonceaweekandtheteamsworkedontheirprojectsduringtheothertwo.MylecturescenteredaroundimplementingaHuffmancodecompressionanddecompressionprogram.Theimplementationrequirestheuseofvariousdatastructures.Theimplementationwasdividedinto8componentsandeachweekIpresentedpseudo-codeforoneofthecomponentsanddiscussedwhichoftheJavabuilt-indatastructurescouldbeusedtoimplementthepseudo-code.Studentswereresponsibleforimplementing(individually)ashomeworkeachofthecomponentsonaweeklybasis.Toensureprojectteamswouldbesuccessful,Idividedtheclassinto4teamstakingintoconsiderationeachstudent’sprogrammingabilityandworkethic.EachteamwasgiventhetaskofdesigninganddevelopingacompleteapplicationthatsatisfiedasetofcriteriathatIprovided.Thesecriteriaincludedincorporatingnon-trivialdatastructures(e.g.trees,linked-lists,graphs),agraphicaluserinterfaceandanexternaldatasourceordatabase,allofwhichstudentshadlimitedexperiencewith.AttheendofthesemestereachoftheteamsgaveapresentationtotheclassthatincludedaPowerPointpresentationandademonstrationoftheirapplication.Inaddition,eachteammembercompletedasurveyontheirowncontributionstotheteam.Theseself-evaluationswerethencopiedanddistributedtotheirteammembers.

Teammembersthencommentedontheaccuracyoftheself-evaluations.Scoresforteamparticipationwerecomputedusingtheself-evaluationsandteammembercomments.Studentgradesforthecoursewereasfollows:A(9),B(2),C(4),D(1),F(2).Oneofthestudentswhofailedthecoursewasrarelyinclass,handedin0of9assignments,andreceived50/100pointsontheteamproject.Theotherstudenthaddifficultyprogrameventhemosttrivialprogramandfailedprimarilybecausehereceived39/100onthefinal.Thefinalexamaveragewas77.Ibelievemyapproachworkedwellforthiscohort.Isawatmid-semesterthatmanystudent’sinterestwasfadingandIdecidedthatachangewasneeded.Ifmycourseevaluationsareanyindication,itappearsthatthestudents,ingeneral,appreciatedthechange.Somechangeshowevershouldbeconsidered.Forexample,manystudentswouldhavepreferredmorelecturesinthesecondhalfofthecourse.Ithinkabetterbalancecanbestruck.IalsoagreewiththestudentsthatwhileworkingontheHuffmancodeproject,morelecturesshouldbededicatedtousingsomeofthebuilt-inJavadatastructureslikeHashMaps.PhilosophyonGroupProjectsAsoneofthestudentevaluationcommentssuggested,mostgraduateswhopursuejobsassoftwareengineerswillworkondevelopmentteams.Itisthereforeimportantforustoprovideexperiencesthatintroducestudentstoworkingonteamsoftwareprojects.CSCI-205isagreatopportunityforthis.InmostofmyclassesIhaveshiedawayfromhavingstudentsworkingroupprojectsasithasbeendifficulttoconstructanassesstoolthataccuratelymeasuresthecontributionsanindividualhasmade.IbelievethatthetoolthatIdevisedforCSCI-205workswell.Thetookrequiresstudentstoputinwritingtheircontributions.Teammatesthenratethesestatementsforaccuracy.Whendonethisway,studentsarelesslikelytolieabouttheiraccomplishmentsforfearofbeingcalleddisingenuous.Ialsofoundthatteammatesarefrankwhenassessingthestatementsmadebytheirteammates.Currently,CSCI-460ComputerScienceSeminarofferedstudentstheexperienceofworkingingroups.Thiscourse,however,willberemovedfromthecurriculumstartingin2018.AspartofourProgramReviewIthinkweshouldconsiderrequiringCSCI-205tohaveateamprojectcomponent.IbelieveitmakessensetorequireateamprojectinCSCI-205,acourseusuallytakeninastudent’s2ndyear.Herestudentswilllearnaboutgroupdynamics,communication,responsibilityearlyonintheiracademiccareers.Theywillalsolearnearlyonthatyoucanaccomplishmuchmoretogetherinateamthanyoucanalone.Thismayencouragestudentstogetinvolvedinothergroupprojectsoutsideofclass,providingthemwithexperiencestoputontheirresumes(e.g.TheShowkerPrize,opensourceprojects,mobileapplications).

CSCI-340ComputerArchitecture(Fall,28students)

SelectedStudentComments

1. Thecoursecouldcovermoreinformation.Itseemedtobegoingquickuntilchapter3whichtookalongtime.Ipreferredtohavealotofassignments,becausethiswouldhaveforcedmetopracticemorethanIdid.

2. EventhoughitwasverydifficultIwoulddomorebomblabs.realisticallyalotofpeopledon't/barelyreadandthebomblabsforcedeveryonetoreallyunderstandthesubjectandthinkaboutwhatwasactuallygoingon.Bomblabwasdifficultandtimeconsumingbutveryhelpful.

3. IthinkBinaryarithmeticshouldbetaughtinanearliercourse(Mathstructuresmaybe)sothatthisclasscandiverightintodoingcomputerarchitectureinsteadofspendingthefirstfewweeksgettingcomfortablewithbinary.ThingslikeIEEEfloatformswillprobablyneedtoremaininthisclass,butthingslikeconversionsbetweenbinary,hex,anddecimalshouldn'thavetobetaughtatthislevel.Also,ifanyotherclassesarecreated,introducingstudentstotheClanguagebeforethisclasswouldalsobehelpful.

4. translatingassemblycodetocasagroup.friendlycompetitionisfun 5. AsmuchasIlovespendingclasstimetomeetwithmygroupanddohomework,Ithink

wegetmoredonewhenwehavetoshowuptoclass,thenworkinourgroupswithyoutheretoanswerquestions.Wedon'tuseourtimewisely.

ReflectionAGreatLearningExperience:Newcourse,newknowledge,greatopportunityforchange.

Fall2016wasthefirsttimethatItaughtthiscourseatBC.Ihadtaughtasimilarcourseasagraduatestudentin2001buthadn’trevisitedthematerialsince.WhilepreparingforthecourseIfoundagreattextbooktitled“ComputerSystems:AProgrammer’sPerspective”thatdiscussescomputerarchitecturebyinvestigatingtheinstructionsinthex86_64assemblylanguageanddiscusseshowchoicesmadewhenprogrammingcanaffectthespeedofaprogram.Ihadneverlearnedassemblylanguagepriortoteachingthiscourse,sothistextandcoursewasagreatopportunityformetolearnassembly.Inaddition,thetextanditsmethodologyhelpedstudentsunderstandwhatisreallygoingoninthecomputerwhentheircodeisbeingexecuted.Throughoutthesemester,weworkedpatientlythroughthechaptersinthetext.WestartedwiththeCprogramminglanguage,workedthroughbinaryarithmetic,skippedfloatingpointrepresentation,andcovermostaspectsofthex86-64assemblylanguage.Wefinishedwiththechapterthatdiscusseshowsyntaxchoicesaffectthespeedofthesoftware.Studentswereveryinterestedinthetopicandenjoyedtheassignments,especiallytheBombLabwherestudentshadtodiffuseasoftwarebombbyinspectingtheassemblycodeofthesoftwareusingtheGDBdebugger.Toprepareforthemidtermandfinal,Idirectedthestudentstoapproximatelyonedozenproblemsinthebookandaskedthemtoworkonthemingroups.Ithenusedthoseproblemsasabasisforthemidtermandfinalexamquestions.Theexamscontainednosurprises–thestudents,iftheyworkeddiligentlyintheirgroups,wouldhaveseensimilarproblemswhenpreparingfortheexams.Assuccessfulasthecoursewas,thereisroomforimprovement.Whenteachingthecourseinthefirstsummersessionof2017manychangesweremadetoenhancethecourse.Someofthechangesthatcanenhancethecourseareasfollows:

1. CoverCPUconstructionatthegatelevelusingthetext“ButHowDoItKnow”.2. IncludemoreprogrammingassignmentsusingC.3. IncludeoneortwoassignmentsusingGDBbeforethebomblabisassigned.4. Includeassignmentswherestudentstranslateassemblycodetoccoderequiring

assemblycodepatternmatching.5. Donotassigngroupworkoutsideofclassinplaceoflecture.

CSCI-205DataStructures(Spring,4students)

SelectStudentComments

1. Noneofthem[programmingassignments]weregradedinatimelymannersotheydidn'treallycontributeatall

2. Gradescouldgooutfaster&therecouldbemoreassignments3. Ithoughtthiscoursewasprettywellstructured.TheonlywayIthinkthiscoursecould

beimprovedwouldbewithmoreexamplesbecausethatseemstohelpme.Reflection

RoomforImprovement:newtext,additionalmaterial,butlackoftimetoprepareIthinkthestudentswereverygenerousintheirevaluations.Idon’tthinkIdidaswellasIhadinprevioussemesters.IdidnotrequireenoughassignmentsforthemtoworkonandthosethatIdidwerenotgradedinatimelymanner.Formostofthecourse,Igavetraditionallectures.BecauseIhadall(4)ofthestudentintheprevioussemester(CSCI-200)whereItaughtthemGenericsIhadroominthiscoursefornewmaterial.Idecidedtointroduceasmallpaperbackbooknamed“EffectiveJava”writtenbyoneofthecreatorsofJavathatdiscussestheproperuseofGenericsandotherJavalanguageconstructs.Wediscussedagreatdealofthelessonsinthisbookaswellasthecustomarydatastructures.WediscussedtheHuffmancodealgorithm,asIhadinprevioussemester,butdidnotrequirestudentstoimplementthealgorithm.TherewasnogroupassignmentandIassignedonly4programmingassignmentsthroughouttheentiresemester.Whenteachingthiscourseinthefuture,Iwouldassignsmaller,almosttrivial,assignmentssothatstudentscouldgainexperienceusingthebuilt-inJavadatastructures.IwillalsoconsiderusingKattisforthiscoursesothatstudentscouldgetimmediatefeedbackonthecorrectnessoftheirsolutions.

CSCI-300MobileApplicationDevelopment(Spring,26students)

SelectedStudentComments

1. Maybegivinguseverythingthatwillberequiredintheappbeforewedesignorcomeupwithanideasowecandesignittousethefeaturesthatwillberequired.Example:ItwasreallyhardtofindauseforthemapinmyappsinceIdidn'treallyneedthemapfeature.

2. THANKYOUFORHAVINGAFTER3PMOFFICEHOURSANDBEINGWILLINGTOHELPMEFORMANYHOURS!!!IAMETERNALLYGRATEFUL!!!!

3. thetutorialswoulddefinitelybenefitfromacommonerrorssectionatthebottom,andifitseemslikealotofpeoplearehavingthesameerrorthat'snotonthetutorialupdatingthedoconn0codeandaddingthataswell.

ReflectionGreatFun:tremendousstudentengagement,impressivestudentworkInthepastIprovidedtheclasswithaseriesoftutorialsthatdescribehowtobuildsomesortofapp(e.g.Bluetoothmessaging,webbrowser)thatIhadalreadywritten.Throughoutthesemester,during“lecture”,studentswouldworkthroughthetutorialsinordertocreatetheapp.Thisworkedformany,butdidnotseemtostimulatetheexcitementthatIgetwhendevelopingmobileapps.IntheSpring2017class,Iaskedthestudentstodesignanddeveloptheirownapp.Tohelpfacilitatethis,tutorials,apprequirements,milestonespecificationsandlinkstoonlineresourceswereprovidedonacoursewebsite.

Priortothedesignphase,wediscussedthedifferentcomponentsthatexistintheAndroidlibrariesandIprovidedthemwithalistofcomponentsthattheyhadtoincorporateintotheirapps.TheywererequiredtosubmitaVisiodiagramthatshowedthevariouscomponentsoftheirappandadescriptionoftheirapp.Theresultswereimpressive.Thestudentsdesignedmanyclever,usefulandfunapps.ThroughoutthesemesterstudentswouldworkonMilestoneassignmentsthatwouldrequiretheimplementationofasubsetofapp’scomponents.EachMilestonehadacompletiondateandgradingrubric.Onthecompletiondate,studentswoulddemonstratetometheappandshowmetheircode.Ifoundthatstudentsweremuchmoreengagedandwereenthusiasticinclassthaninprevioussemesters.Theyhadasenseofownershipandprideintheirwork.They’daddfeaturesthatwerenotrequired,andwouldshowthemofftoothersintheclass,oftencausingachainreaction.Manystudentsstatedthattheyintendedoncontinuingthedevelopmentoftheirappsaftertheclassended.OneofthecommentsinthecourseevaluationsuggestedthatIincludeinthetutorialsasectionthatdescribedpitfallsandtoupdatethetutorialswhenIseecommonerrorsbeingmadebystudentsinclass.IamintheprocessofportingallofmyclassnotestoWordPressandplantoincludeasectiononCommonErrorsasthestudentsuggested.

CSCI-330OperatingSystems(Spring,29students)

SelectedStudentComments

1. Ithinkmore,smallassignmentswouldbehelpful.Littlesimpleexercises,likewhatwearedoingforfinalreview,inbetweenthelargeprojectsIfeelwouldhelppeoplegraspthecodebetter.Theyneedn'tbeincrediblyheavypointwise,justsomethingthatslessstressfulandmoreaboutbasicusagebeforedivingintolargeprojectsandexams.

2. Theprojectassignmentswereinteresting.Doingmorethatarelikegames,likeGladiatorwerefun.

3. moreonedayprogramassignments 4. YouimplementedmorecodingintothisclassthansomeoftheothersandIappreciate

that.ElaboratingonwhatIsaidabovethough,Ithinkthereneedstobemoreprogrammingandapplicationusingawiderspectrumoflanguagesthanjustthebasicones.Thiswouldhelpusstandoutwhenwegooutlookingforjobsandinternships.

ReflectionLessonLearned:studentsneedpractice,practice,practice.Thecoursematerialswereaccessibleviaacoursewebpage.Ibelievethecontentofthecoursewastaughtwell.ItismyfavoritecoursetoteachandIbelievemyenthusiasmshows.FormostofthesemesterIgavetraditionallectureswherewediscussedalloftheconventionaltopicsinanOperatingSystemscourseincludingthekernel,processmanagement,memorymanagement,filesystems,signals,IPC,threadsandsockets.Tohelpreinforcestudentlearn,4programmingassignmentsweregiven.Theseassignmentswerenewlydesignedbymeandincorporatedgamingthemes.Forexample,inordertoteach

studentshowtousesemaphoresIcreatedaprogramthatranpairsofstudentprogramsagainsteachother.WecalledthestudentprogramsGladiators.Whentwoprogramswererunagainsteachothertheysharedaccesstoamatrixofsemaphoresandfoughttoacquireallofthem.Duringoneofthelecturesweheldabracketedcompetitiontoseewhichprogramwasthebest.Itwasafunandraucousexperience.Themidtermgradeswereterriblewithaveragesof68and55.ThisdespitethefactthatIgavetheclassreviewquestionsthatwereincrediblysimilartoexamquestions.Ibelievemanystudentssimplydidnotworkonthereviewquestions.Iwasworriedafterthesecondmidtermthatmanystudentswouldfailthefinalexamifsomethingwasnotdonetohelpthemlearnthematerial.So,duringeachofthelecturesinthefinaltwoweeksofclasses,Ihadstudentswriteprogramsthatweredesignedtotakenomorethan50minutestocompleteandthatutilizedvariousconceptsthatwediscussedthroughoutthesemester.Ibelievethishelpedtremendously.Iwoulduseasimilarstrategyinthefuture,exceptratherthanworkingontheprogramsduringthelastcoupleofweeksofclass,I’dhavethemworkonthemwhenthetopicsarediscussed.Topreparestudentsforthefinal,Iprovidedthemwiththefinalexamquestions.Ihadneverdonethisbefore,butIthinkitwasappropriate.Iwitnessedstudentsdiligentlyworkingthroughtheproblemstoprepareforthefinal.OnedifficultythatIhadwastryingtoengage5ofthe29studentsinthecourse.Thesestudentsfailedtohandin2,3,4,2,3ofthe4programmingassignments,didnotaskforhelp,anddidverypoorlyonthemidtermexamandfinal.IbelieveamorestringentpolicyonwhoproceedstoCSCI-205(perhapsCorhigherinCSCI-200)mighthavepreventedsomeofthesestudentsfromcontinuinginthemajor.Ialsobelievetwoofthestudentshaveadrugdependencyissue.Intheend,3ofthe5receivedanFforthecourse.Theonestudentwhoattendedsummerschoolhoweverinformedmethathewastoobusyduringthesemestertostudyfortheclass.HewentontoreceiveanA.

CIS-325DataCommunications(Spring,16students)

SelectedStudentCommentsOnly4ofthe16studentsintheclasscompletedthecourseevaluation,despitethefactthatIprovidedstudentstimetocompletethesurveywithmeoutsideoftheroom.Idonotbelievethesurveyresultsaccuratelyreflectstheclass’viewonthecourse.Thecommentsthatwereprovidedbythestudentsareunhelpfultome.ManyofthecommentsexpressdissatisfactioninmebecauseIconfrontedastudentwhowasrepeatedlydisrespectfultomeinclassanddisruptiveduringclass.Thissamestudenthasahistoryofbeingdisrespectfultootherfacultyinthisdepartmentandhasalonghistoryofbeingdishonest.

Despitethemoodexpressedinthestudentevaluations,themoodinclasswasjovial.Studentswereveryfocusedandworkeddiligentlywhileatthesametimejokedwithoneanotherandme.ReflectionNotUnexpected:ChallengingmaterialforanunchallengedcohortIhadtaughtCIS-250oncebefore,ayearprior.Duringthecourse,ItaughtdatacommunicationsusingaCiscoCertificationExamreviewtextandasimulator.ThematerialfocusedtooheavilyontheproprietaryCiscohardwareandleftoutagreatdealofthehigher-levelnetworkdesignprinciples.Thispastspring,ItaughtthecourseusingtheCompTIANetwork+CertificationGuide.Thetextismuchbetterforthiscourse.Inaddition,ratherthanlecturingeachday,Iflippedtheclassroomandrequiredstudentstoreadonaverage30pagesbeforeclass.Inpractice,Ibelievefewdid.DuringmostclassesIhandedoutpacketsofworksheetsthatincludedfillintheblankandmatchingquestions.IntotalIproduced17packetstotaling94pages.Iencouragedstudentstoworkinpairsandusetheirtextbooks.Whiletheywereworkingonthepackets,Iwouldworktheroomtohelpstudentsanswerquestionstheycouldnotfindanswerstointhetext.Often,with10minutesremainingduringthelecture,theclasswouldgatherinacircleandgoovertheworksheetanswers.Iwouldalsooftengototheboardwhenstudentsneededclarificationonvarioustopics(e.g.Networkaddressing,domainnameresolution,encryptionprotocols).Moststudentsdidwellinthecourse.Thegradeearnedwere:A(2),B(6),C(3),D(4).NostudentearnedanFinthiscourse.Inthefuture,Iwouldbemoreconsistentinadministeringquizzes.Also,Ibelievestudentswouldbemorelikelytoutilizetheworksheetsaftercompletingthemifthequizzesweregivenaftertheworksheetswerecompleted.Ialsobelievethattakingafewminutesatthebeginningofeachlecturetolectureonaparticulartopicdiscussedinthepacketswouldhelpstudents’perceptionofthecourse.Somefindvalueinbeinglecturedandaredissatisfiedwhentheyparticipateinaclassthatprovideslittlelecturing.

CSCI-460ComputerScienceSeminar(Spring,10students)

SelectedStudentComments

1. ActuallyhavemeetingseveryweekReflectionGreatIdea–LacklusterResults:Greatideas,littlestudenteffortThissemester,ShaneStevens(theinstructorfortheISMSeniorSeminar)andIcombinedourstudentsintooneclass,dividedthestudentsintoteamsandaskedthemtodesign,document,develop,anddemonstrateasoftwaresystemoftheirchoosing.Whenorganizingtheteams,ShaneandItookintoconsiderationstudentabilityandmajorsothateachteamcontainedrepresentativesfrombothmajorsandhadmembersthatcouldleadtheteamtowardsuccessfulcompletion.Weprovidedtheteamswithasetofcriteriathattheirsystemshadtomeet,aswellasalistofdocumentsthattheyneededtosubmituponcompletion.ThesedocumentsincludedaRequirementsAnalysisDocument,aUnitTestPlan,aGANTTchartdescribingeachmember’scontributionsthroughoutthesemester,andaPowerPointpresentation.ShaneandI,eachtookoversightresponsibilityfor2teamsandplannedtomeetourteamsweeklyforadebriefing.I,unfortunately,didnotstartmeetingwithmyteamstillnearmid-semesterandfoundthatoneoftheteamshadsquanderedthefirsthalfofthesemester.

Intheend2ofthe4teamsdevelopedoutstandingsoftwaresystemsandthedocumentationtosupportthem.Theothertwoteams,startedtoolateanddidnotcompletetheirsystems.Nextyear,Iwouldmakecertaintomeetwiththeteamsregularlyinordertohelpensuretheystaymotivatedthroughoutthesemester.

Appendix

1. Hoursofstudy,2. Enrolledcredithours,3. Classification,4. Itookthiscoursefor:PersonalInterest5. Itookthiscoursefor:MyMajor6. Itookthiscoursefor:GeneralEducation7. Itookthiscoursefor:300/400LevelReq8. Itookthiscoursefor:ReputationofProfessor9. Withinyourmajororminor10. Overallratingofyourowneffortinthecourse11. Overallratingofthecourse12. Overallratingoftheinstructor13. Thesyllabusadequatelydescribedtheobjectivesofthecourse14. Thereadings/assignments/testsenhancedmylearningofthematerial15. Thematerialwascoveredatanappropriatepace16. Thecoursewasinterestingand/orengaging17. Thecoursemademewanttolearnmoreaboutthissubjectorfield18. Thecoursewaschallengingandstretchedmyabilities19. Ilearnedalotinthiscourse20. Theinstructorwasavailabletoassiststudentsinandoutofclass21. Theinstructorwasapproachableandopentostudents'questions&concerns22. Theinstructorappearedtoknowthematerialwell23. Theinstructorseemedinterestedandenthusiasticaboutthesubject24. Theinstructorshowedrespectandconcernforstudents25. Theinstructorencouragedstudentparticipationand/orinteraction26. Theinstructorreturnedassignmentswithinareasonabletimeframe27. Theinstructorusedavarietyofactivities,assignments,and/orapproaches28. Theinstructorexplainedcoursematerialinaneffectivefashion29. Theinstructorprovidedinsightthatchallengedmetothinkcritically30. Theinstructorprovidedfeedbackonassignmentsthatfosteredmylearning