ICS 311 Fall 2020 Format and Routines

By "routines" we mean our periodic patterns of activity: what happens in a typical class, a typical week, and a typical exam and assignment cycle. This page tells you what you will be expected to do on a recurring basis.

Exam Cycles

There are two midterm exams covering the core material. They are given one full week after the last problem set on the exam topics was due, so you have time to get feedback on homework problems. The first exam is at least half review of 211 and 241, but with new analytic concepts and greater depth.

Weekly Routine

On most weeks we cover one book chapter/topic in each class (two chapters/topics per week). Exceptions include the first two weeks when we are getting our bearings and covering material that must be understood to comprehend the rest of the semester; the weeks we have midterms; and the chapter that introduces graphs (we take a full week for it).

The pace is intense: set aside time almost every day for ICS 311. (We recommend that you take ICS 311 when the rest of your schedule is lighter.) The basic pattern is as follows:

Weekends:

• Work on the past week's homework problems.
• Read or review material to understand the coming week's topics (your choice of our screencasts, web notes, the CLRS textbook chapter, other readings offered, and/or the MIT lecture videos).
• Post any questions you have about the problems in the appropriate discussion forum (check with instructor what medium we are using in the current semester: Laulima? Slack? Discord?)

Mondays:

• Finish studying for the quiz before class.
• Attend class online, where you will take a quiz and work on group problem solving. (The problems build on the quiz and often bridge to the homework.) See "Class Routine" below.
• Seek help if you had trouble with the homework over the weekend, as homeworks are always due Tuesdays.

Tuesdays:

• Problem sets from the previous week are due midnight (see below) the Tuesday after they are given.
• The deadline in Laulima will be set to 23:55 (11:55 pm) on the due date, to avoid any ambiguity of which day "00:00" refers to, but an upload of 11:59 will be considered on time by Laulima.
• We will accept solutions uploaded any time that evening before Laulima shuts down, but Laulima will mark uploads 00:00 onwards as "Late".
• Recommendation: Upload your initial solutions before midnight. Then you may upload corrections until 3:00 am. No submissions are accepted after this time. If you are in the middle of an upload when Laulima shuts down you will not get credit: always have an early "safety save".
• Important: Laulima does not count an upload of a "Draft" as satisfying the assignment. Don't ever upload drafts : too often students forget to change it to final and then we have to make exceptions in Laulima.

Wednesdays:

• Finish studying the second topic, preparing for the quiz before class.
• Attend class online. See "Class Routine" below.

Thursdays:

• Problem sets for the weekend are usually posted Thursday evening.
• Readings and podcasts for the coming week are already posted at the beginning of the semester, so you can get an early start!

Fridays:

• Take a first look at the homework. This is a good time to ask initial questions you have about the homework so you can get started over the weekend.

Class Routine

The focus of our 100 minute class will be student problem solving in groups, with opportunites to get help. The groups will be formed anew randomly each day. Each day you will solve a series of conceptual problems and turn them in as a group for a group grade. These problems prepare you to take on more substantial problems that you do individually over the weekend and turn in on the next Tuesday. At that time you will also allocate participation points to group members. (See Assessment for explanations of grading.)

Here is a typical schedule for class: Adjustments to the class routine will likely be made to meet current needs.

Before Class Setup:

• Use a device on which you can manage multiple applications, edit documents, and interact via video and audio: a laptop or computer. Preferably use a headset and microphone, or buds with microphone.
• Log into Laulima and select the Tests & Quizzes tool (the checkbox) so you are ready to take the quiz. Quiz will be released during class.
• Open Google Docs to the Current Class folder for your section. Open the document "_Messages_".
• Using the ID and password sent to you (also posted in _Messages_), connect to the Zoom session at least 5 minutes before class starts, as we start promptly. Video should be on so we get to know each other. Microphone should be muted to avoid background noise until you enter breakouts.

Full Class in Main Zoom Session:

• Welcome and Administrative Comments
• Quiz (timed quiz taken in Laulima)
• Discussion of Quiz Solution
• Introduction to today's problem (often building on quiz)
• Instructor then forms random breakout groups. You will get a pop-up asking you to join. Your group number is in the popup, and then in the top of your Zoom window.

In Randomly Assigned Zoom Breakout Groups:

• Introduce yourselves to each other.
• Coordinate with group members to make one copy of the problem document, replacing "__" in the file name and title with your breakout group number.
• Each participant should open this document and enter their own name at the top of the document to get credit (we can tell who edited it).
• Open the chat tool, as this is one way the instructor and TA interact with you.
• As a group, discuss the problems via Zoom audio, and edit the Google Doc to indicate your solutions to the class problems.
• The instructor or TA may comment on your document, or may contact you in the chat. Watch for this feedback.
• If you want help, put a request with your breakout group number by editing the shared "_Messages_" document. An instructor or TA will come to your group via Google Doc chat.
• If you need more urgent help or to talk by audio, use the Zoom Help tool to ask the instructor to come to your Zoom breakout, or to send a TA.

Return to Full Class in Main Zoom Session:

• Instructor will give warning when breakout sessions are ending, and then set a 1 minute timer to force everyone back to the main session. Finish typing your solution.
• Your class documents will be copied to a read-only folder named Topic-xx..., where they will be graded. Go there if you need to re-open them.
• Class problem solutions will then be discussed in the full class Zoom session.
• (Monday:) Final clarifications of homework problem due Tuesday
• (Wednesday:) Assignment of this weekend's homework problems

Other Comments

Inverted Classroom

(Some of these comments, written pre-Covid-19, assume in-person class experience, but translate to our online classes if we consider "in-person" as synchronous visual and audio co-presence while sharing documents, not necessarily physical co-presence.)

This class is "inverted" in the sense that lectures are recorded and made available outside of class, and classroom time is used for what can only be done in person: collaboration and helping each other.

Lectures have their advantages, but they have problems too. For most students listening to lectures is too passive an activity. The temptation to daydream or check Facebook may be too great, and it takes effort to keep your mind on the material. Actual problem solving is more effective for learning. Also, lectures are a form of "distance learning": though we are all in the same room we might as well be at a distance, as there is little interaction. When I ask working professionals what skills they want our students to have, being able to collaborate in teams is ALWAYS mentioned on the first breath.

For these reasons, the inverted classroom puts lectures online so that students who benefit from them can have them, and even review them repeatedly; and uses the classroom time in ways that engage students more actively and takes advantage of the unique opportunity provided by being in the same room (or the same Zoom!).

Studying Before Class and Quizzes

The quizzes are intended to motivate students to review the material before class. If you don't prepare in advance, you risk looking foolish in front of your peers, who may be annoyed at you for being unprepared to help, and you'll miss a learning opportunity. You don't want to get a reputation for being the person who is not prepared. It's a small world: someday your peers may be able to influence a decision whether to hire you.

Groups

Much has been published by researchers and practitioners on how to organize groups for collaborative learning. Our approach is based on this research and our experience with this course.

Students will be assigned randomly to groups, rotating to new groups to help you get to know each other. (A survey of students in a prior class indicated that many liked this format as it was a rare opportunity to get to know other ICS students.) Also it helps prevent reliance on dysfunctional relationships (e.g., freeloading and "the sucker effect"): a student can't plan on being with someone who will do the work for him or her, and after a while people figure out who to avoid.

This is an important opportunity to develop group collaboration skills and also to develop a good reputation with your peers. More than once, I have seen some students after graduation get hired while others fail to get a job because of the reputations they had with their peers.