This page represents my attempts to answer some questions that students have asked (in the first assignment, in office hours, via email, etc.)
Note that there may be some repetition on this page.
Last updated: 2024-01-21 at approximately noon.
I see that the course is “Functional Problem Solving ‘with lab’”. When is the lab?
The lab is mixed in with the the regular course. There is no separate lab session. However, you should know that this course meets three days per week and you are expected to show up all three days.
How difficult is the course?
That’s a hard question to answer. Computer science is a different way of thinking. Some folks find it natural. Some folks find it nearly impossible. I see at least a factor of ten difference in the amount of time students take on some assignments (e.g., some students can complete an assignment in two hours, others will struggle to complete the same assignment in twenty hours). I’ve found no good ways to predict how difficult someone will find the course. I’m not alone in these experiences; faculty nationwide observe the same tenfold difference in how long students might take to answer questions.
Of course, time spent is only one issue. Often, the people who seem to need to spend more time understand the material at least as well as people who spend less time.
How can I excel in the course?
Different students find different ways to excel. In general, one excels in my courses by taking an active approach to the material—read carefully, take notes, make lists of questions, ask questions in class, answer my questions, seek help when confused, discuss material with colleagues, and so on and so forth.
But I find students also excel when they engage enough with the material that they find natural ways to exceed my expectations—by finding new approaches, by doing creative things, by extending ideas.
I’ve heard that this is intended as a “weed out” course. Is that really the case?
We have always tried to make CSC-151 a “fertilize” course; we love CS and want to develop students’ interterest in the field. Personally, I’m always happy when I convince a student to switch (potential) majors to CS.
But we don’t make it an easy course. Our goal is to challenge you.
We also use the mastery grading approach to help ensure that every student can succeed.
In their end-of-course evaluation in Spring 2024, one student wrote I think this class made me realize the rumors of it being a “really difficult weed out class” are completely wrong.