Articulation Practice

One of the goals of this class is for you to be able to communicate precisely about the algorithm design process. This includes being able to formulate questions, rephrase and discuss material as well as help others understand any and all steps of the process. These activities help you take ownership of your learning and mastery of the material:

• Weekly learning reflections (individual)

• Topic module reflections (individual)

• Learning pod engagement (with a team)

• Topic synthesis (with a team)

• (Optionally) lead a lesson for your peers

Please fill this out to reflect on your learning each week (submit by Monday of the following week). This will help both you and me support your learning in the course.

You are responsible for two topic 3-5 minute module reflections for your peers. For each, you may choose to:

• Deliver the reflection at the beginning of a class (3-5 minutes), or

• Record it as a video and post it to the forum

Use your time in a way that you feel will support your peers learning, which could be by:

• summarizing a concept, problem or definition

• walking through a simple example

• contextualizing material from the class in terms of a larger picture (e.g., the class as a whole, how it connects to your computer science journey or computer science in general or beyond)

• formulating a precise question to clarify material

• prompting the class to answer a simple question or pose specific questions

You will be graded on

• clarity of communication

• impact on your peers' learning

You will be working in groups of 3-4 to help support your learning. Be strategic about how you work together and how you approach the material. Here is some structure to guide your interactions:

• Use active listening (listen to understand) when trying to figure out where you or others are going wrong in a problem.

• Reflect back and synthesize: mirror what you heard to clarify your own understanding (and maybe theirs!).

• Step up, step back: be aware of when to take up space, and when to make room for more voices.

You will be graded on

• engagement with the pod practice

• serving as a facilitator for your pod (at least once) and presenting/posting a clearly articulated report (summary and/or questions) on Ed Discussion

Roughly each Tuesday (the day a quiz is given out), a team of 3 will deliver a synthesis of the associated material. This could take the form of:

• a guided activity

• a walk-through of an example 

• a "cheat sheet" which could be used as a study guide or quick-reference for the quiz

You will be graded on:

• efficacy of group dynamics (each team member should lead for about the same amount of time)

• correctness and clarity of materials 

• ability to engage your classmates

• organization of 10-15 minute time block

Please post any relevant materials before the class meets via the Ed Discussion forum!

Notes:

• You may wish to use the Wednesday evening meeting time to work as a team, which should be available in all of your schedules.

• If you would like help with group dynamics, please contact me as soon as you can.

You may choose to prepare and lead your peers through a topic module and adjust your grading criteria (Grading Option B on the Syllabus).

The topic module will take place in-class for 20-30 minutes and may take the form of:

• an activity to reinforce earlier material (such as solving recurrence relations or asymptotic analysis)

• a presentation of a more advanced algorithm -- specific suggestions listed on the form below

• leading a problem-solving session for a simpler problem that uses a design approach from class (e.g., drawn from sample interview questions)

Modules will take place during the last class meetings (after November break). 

You can work individually or in pairs. 

Requirements

Your module must:

• include a presentation of technical material

• contain an interactive component to engage your classmates

• have a follow-up multiple choice question for students to answer on the final exam, based on your lesson plan [you will need to submit this to me by sharing a google doc before 12/5]

You will be assessed on:

• the correctness and clarity of your materials

• the impact on student learning

• design of the exam question

By Wed 11/1:

By Mon 11/27: module materials

• Share a google drive folder or a google doc with:

  • Material you’ll be using (slide deck, etc.) so I can post it to the web site.

  • Check that permissions for anything you'd like your peers to access are set to Mount Holyoke College or Anyone with the link.

• Share a google doc with a multiple choice question + the solution to be included on the Final Exam.

  • Permissions should only be shared with me :)