Preparing for the second day of class (#1329)

Topics/tags: Teaching

Recently, I posted some short notes about the first day of class. Thursday, I ended up spending a bit of time preparing for the second day of class. Although it’s only been a month and a half or so since I last prepared for class, I feel surprisingly out of practice; I had to remind myself of all the steps.

As usual, I started with the eboard [1], my hybrid notes to myself plus a record of the class. Writing or revising an eboard encourages me to think more closely about what I plan to do or cover in class. When feeling particularly responsible, I may even add optimistic times to each part of the class. For class two, I have the normal slew of administrivia (10 minutes), a review of questions students asked (5 minutes), some debrief on the last class period (10 minutes), lab time for students to get their accounts setup (15 minutes), lab time for starting to play with Scheme/DrRacket (30 minutes), and a short time to play the Layers game (10 minutes) [2].

When I put an eboard together, I usually end up going through upcoming events to list events I’d like to encourage my students to attend or at least advertise to my students. (On that topic: Does anyone know where and when next Wednesday’s Current Events Support Space is?)

I also make a list of upcoming work. I know that my students can grab the list from the course schedule or the class Gradescope site, but it’s helpful to remind them. Putting together the list also helps ensure I post all the assignments to Gradescope. For this class, I needed to post the lab writeup, a submission form for reading responses for class three, and a form for metacognitive pre-reflections for the first homework assignment. I also made a list of the upcoming readings and published the first homework assignment.

Unfortunately, doing all that meant I also decided to rearrange the schedule a bit. Why am I already rearranging the schedule? Why not? Mostly, it’s that the first homework will benefit from us covering functions on Monday. The original topic for Monday, decomposition, seems to be a natural outcome of this new first assignment, and may not need its own lab. If Monday’s lab takes too long, I’ll extend it into Wednesday.

I also make it a habit to insert questions and answers. So I have to review the students’ the reading responses. I did a dozen or so in the morning and then another eightteen or so at night [3]. I considered doing some more the morning before class but ran out of time.

Okay, that’s about it for the eboard. What else goes into class prep? As I just suggested, I try to review the students’ reading responses. What are reading resposnes? For most class sessions, I ask the students to do a few moderately short readings and then to answer some self check questions. In addition to answering those questions, they are also supposed to tell me how much time they spent and, optionally, ask me some questions. This first set of readings took longer than I’d remembered; most students spent at least ninety minutes on readings and responses. I intend that they spend less than an hour on each set of readings. Hopefully, things will settle down after the first few classes.

On good days (or at least good days in which I also have spare time), I also review and update the upcoming labs and readings. For this day, I made a few changes to one of the readings to better match our current code library, but that’s about it.

What else goes into class prep? Or at least what else goes into class prep for the second day of class? Since they don’t yet know how to use the MathLAN workstations, I need to print out the first lab. After that, they can (and should) access the labs online.

Since I use a stack of cards with student names to randomly call on students [4], I need to print out those cards. I usually do so on the morning of the second day of class. Between printing those cards, printing the first lab, and printing new class lists, I used up most of my Friday morning class-prep time.

This year, I’ve created a new first homework in which students write programs that create new cards for the Layers game. I thought it would be good to have the students play the game at least once before starting the assignment, so I had to open a bunch of copies of the game and get things in order: punch out the pieces, make stacks of cards for individual players, and such. I managed to get these set up on Thursday.

I randomly assign partners in my classes by having students pick a card as they enter the room and use that card to determine their place. (The cards contain the names and locations of computers in the room.) Historically, all of my classes are full. That means the only prep I need to do for randomized seating is to ensure that all the pick a card to determine your place cards are there. This year, there’s space in all of my classes. Hence, I need to remove some of the cards before students arrive. There are eighteen students (more or less) in section one, twenty-two in section two, and fourteen in section three. That means that I have to rearrange them each time.

And, as I mentioned in the prior musing, a few minutes before class starts, I need to start the Teams recording and the Otter.ai recording/transcript.

This weekend, I’m reviewing the work from their first assignment, their answers to questions about the course syllabus and policies, and their introductory surveys. I’m also writing an autograder for the new assignment. At least that’s what I plan to do.

Postscript: What was class two about? Here are the one-paragraph summaries from Otter.ai.

Section one: The class, CSC-151-01 2025Sp, focused on getting started with Scheme and Mathlan [5]. Students were instructed on seating arrangements, lab procedures, and administrative tasks. Key points included the importance of partnering efficiently, understanding Scheme syntax, and using DrRacket for coding. The instructor emphasized the need for students to set up password resets and manage reading time effectively. Upcoming events and assignments were outlined, including a lab on Mathlan setup, a Layers game, and reflective homework. The instructor also highlighted the importance of moderation in substance use and consent in relationships.

Section two: The class focused on setting up lab equipment, including Mathland [6], Linux, and Dr Racket. Students were instructed to follow specific instructions on the board, form pairs, and navigate the room using assigned cards. The instructor emphasized the importance of clear instructions and efficient group formation. Administrative details included the need for password resets and the importance of reading efficiently. The class also covered the basics of Dr Racket, including syntax and error handling. A mini-project on the Layers game was introduced, and students were guided through the submission process on GradeScope. Concerns about partner issues were addressed, and the instructor provided solutions for technical difficulties.

Section three: The class covered the basics of using the lab equipment, including Mathland and Dr Racket, and introduced a new start-of-class procedure involving business cards. The instructor emphasized the importance of timely reading completion, aiming for under an hour, and addressed the need for efficient reading strategies. The class discussed the use of password reset services and the importance of moderation in substance use. Upcoming events like the Lunar New Year celebration and Pride Week were mentioned. The instructor also highlighted the significance of specific instructions in group activities and introduced a new game called Layers for a homework assignment.

Isn’t AI wonderful?

[1] That link goes to the post-class eboard. Not all of the text you see on that eboard was there when I finished my preparation. For example, I add the Friday Public Service Announcement during class. I suppose you could compare what ended up in section 1, section 2, and section 3.

[2] In reality, the administrivia took about fifteen minutes and the Q&A section took about ten minutes.

[3] I generally only review those I receive by 8pm so that I can get to bed at a reasonable hour.

[4] Perhaps I’ll write more about that in a future musing. Or perhaps I’ve already mused about it.

[5] It’s MathLAN, but Mathlan is fairly close.

[6] Mathland is not as close. However, it sounds like a fun place to visit.

Version 1.0 of 2025-01-25.