Welcome to Algorithms and Data Structures!

No one shall be treated differently, separately, on the basis of race, religion, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or disability. Discipline will be imposed where appropriate for any act of discrimination. 

Coming into this course I expect you to have learned basic coding tools and be able to write a working program. However since last year was a bit rough in the CS department and we generally assume students will forget quite a bit over the summer anyway we will focus on review for the first few weeks of class. 

Review Goals (COSC 130 Objectives)

Students feel confident in:

1.     Writing basic programs implementing basic variables (int, char, String, etc.) and data structures (arrays and ArrayLists)

2.     Using decision making control structures (if statements) and looping control structures (while and for loops)

3.     Using Object Oriented programming to write and call methods in more than one class

4.    Creating recursive algorithms

5.    Reading and Writing data using File Operations

Once students feel comfortable using the above tools we will start to explore more complex algorithms and data structures. This class is structured differently from the introduction classes, I will not be giving you all of the code you need to complete assignments, instead you will be developing the code you need based on the descriptions I give in class. 

Official Overview

In this course you will start to think about more complex programs. We will discuss and program (using JAVA) several fundamental data structures as well as concepts related to the Object Oriented paradigm. You will also gain more familiarity with algorithm complexity analysis in both space and time. Prerequisite: COSC130.

Objectives

At the competition of COSC 201, students will be able to:

1.     Data Structures: Use list, tree, and other data structures.

2.     Algorithms: Implement sorting and searching algorithms.

3.     Working from specifications: Implement a data structure from a specification.

4.     Making Choices: Differentiate the efficiency of various data structures.

5.     Outside Sources: Construct a programming solution from available, reliable sources.

LATE Project Milestones and final Project Submissions: If you believe your assignment will be late come talk to the professor as soon as possible and we will make a plan for you to get back on track with the submission of your assignment and possible late penalties for those submission options. I don't need to know your reasons for being late, if you don't want to tell me them. With no conversation the late penalty is a 10% reduction in the grade for every 24 hours after the due date that the submission is turned in late and the assignment will not be accepted after one week past the due date.

Project Meeting Absence - Individual meetings will be scheduled by the student in the meeting times provided. If no time slot works for the student because of class or other scheduled conflicts then the student should let the professor know either in class or by email before individual meetings begin so that an alternate time can be arranged. (Note: The majority of the individual meetings will be scheduled during the regularly scheduled class time so this type of conflict is not foreseen to be a major issue) If a personal conflict arises before the scheduled meeting the student should contact the professor as soon as possible to arrange an alternate time slot if one exists. If the student misses the meeting without contacting the professor within 24 hours or does not arrange for a make up meeting the highest grade possible on the project is a 30%. 

Quiz Absences - If you are absent from class on a quiz day but are in class on the next class period, ask for a blank quiz so that you can do quiz revisions and earn up to 50% of the points you could have earned on the quiz. You can also make up the points for a missed quiz at the final exam.

ANONYMIZED GRADING: It is important for you to put your name on each assignment you turn in to practice professionalism and I will remove points if it is not present, however I also believe that anonymized grading is important and I use it for all assignments to the fullest extent possible. Anonymized grading requires that I not know the author of the work I grade. I achieve this by opening all of the assignments at once and minimizing the comments at the top of the code or scrolling so that I cannot see your name at the top of the document as I grade. I use anonymized grading to minimize the effect that either my own biases or any preconceived notions of students’ ability influence may have on my judgment of their work. 

Note: It is not usually possible for me to use anonymized grading with late work.

Late Video Worksheets: Research shows that flipped classrooms are a good for learning, however the flipped classroom approach only works if students come prepared for class. The worksheets associated with the lecture videos will each be worth 10 points if they are completed before 11:59 the night before the class they are listed as due on. If they are submitted after this time they will be worth 1 point. 

Late Sticker Worksheets: Sticker sheets will be turned in every time there is a quiz and at the end of the semester. Stickers for worksheets assigned since the last quiz will be given 2 points. Stickers due but missed at the last quiz but since earned will be given 1 point. Stickers due more than one quiz earlier will not be given any points. 

Health  - COVID and Other Physical Illness

Feeling Bad? - Please stay home if you feel at all ill! Regardless of wether you think it is contagious or not, if you do not feel well please stay home and rest. COVID is not the only illness, the flu, strep throat, etc. should also be taken seriously and not passed to the people around you. There are many ways to make up work and points in this class and it is better for everyone if you stay home and rest when you are ill so you can get better sooner.

Masks - I am very grateful to the many thousands of people who worked very hard to develop the COVID vaccine and the tens of thousands of people who organized the distribution of it. The research suggests however that vaccinated people can spread COVID and, in rare cases, catch the disease therefore I will be wearing a mask all semester.

Mental Health Resources

The Wellness Center (240-895-4289) provides numerous confidential health and counseling services including a 24/7 Counseling Helpline and same day/next day connections to counseling by calling 240-895-4289 or emailing the Director at lkscherer@smcm.edu. To learn more about Wellness Center Services please go to their webpage at https://www.smcm.edu/wellness/

Sometimes students feel they need additional resources beyond those available on campus for a variety of reasons. As such, below I’ve included information, websites, and phone numbers for a variety of other mental health related organizations that are available/accessible nationwide. Each of these organizations also has an online chat system which can be found by going to their website and selecting the chat option.

Sexual Assault

According to RAINN "Among undergraduate students, 26.4% of females and 6.8% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation" (Source) I deeply hope that you do not experience any sort of assault during your college career but please know that if you do, and you talk about it in front of a professor, that professor is legally required to report the assault to the Title IX office, who will then send you an email inviting you to talk about it more.