| Assignments and Evaluation |
Reading: Reading — whether it is a
textbook-style explanation or documentation —
is one of the core ways professionals learn on the job and it is
a skill worth building deliberately. Supplemental and reference
material posted after class augments what is covered in class and,
combined with the slides and examples from class, should be your first
resource if you are struggling with a topic or want to dig deeper
— start there (and come to office hours) before turning to other
sources.
Homework: Trying to solve problems and apply concepts for
yourself is essential for mastery — learning isn't a
spectator activity where you can just read about something or watch
someone else do it. Homework problems will be assigned after most
class periods and will be collected weekly, with two opportunities
and up to two weeks to submit problems (in most cases).
Feedback is provided regarding correctness, but homework is graded
only on effort and completeness — the goal is low-stakes
practice and learning.
Project: A substantial course project involving the
design and development of a database and application utilizing
that database provides a practical application for the course
material. 15-minute midpoint check-in and 15-minute project
handin meetings are required for most/all project stages —
the midpoint check-in is to help identify questions and sticking
points and to encourage early progress, while the goal of the
handin meetings is to talk through your submission with you and
confirm that what you submitted genuinely reflects your own
understanding and effort.
Exams: There will be five written hour exams (four in
class during the semester and one during part of the scheduled
final exam timeslot) and a two-hour written cumulative final exam
(in the rest of the scheduled final exam timeslot). Dates are on
the schedule page. More about the topics covered and the format
of the exams will be announced closer to the exam dates.
Grades: Your final grade in this course is made up of
three components, weighted as follows:
- Content: 70% (standards-based grading)
The largest component of your grade reflects the knowledge
and skills you've acquired and demonstrated over the semester
i.e how well you've learned what the course aims to teach.
This is assessed through exams and the project.
- Project: 20%
This component reflects the quality and completeness of
what you actually build over the course of the semester: a
working, specifications-compliant database application. Each
project milestone is graded against a concrete specification
— did you deliver what was asked, and does it actually
work?
- Engagement: 10%
Learning isn't a spectator activity — you need to
show up, actively participate, and wrestle with the issues
in solving problems. This component reflects doing the
work of learning: showing up to class (on time!),
completing homework, coming to office hours, and attending
handin meetings. For full credit, you are expected to
complete at least 70% of the assigned homework problems,
satisfy the course attendance policy, and attend at least
four hours of office hours over the course of the semester
(midpoint check-in meetings and reassessment meetings count
towards this total). (Project handin meetings are required
in order for project handins to be graded so they don't
count towards engagement.)
Standards-based grading means that instead of computing
an average or total of exam and project scores, your grade for
the Content component is based on whether you've demonstrated
proficiency in the specific skills and concepts central to the
course. How this works:
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Each standard is tracked individually and reported as one of
four levels: Not
Yet, Developing, Proficient, or Mastery.
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When time permits, there will be an opportunity to reassess
standards you didn't meet an on assessment rather than those
results being final. For standards assessed at the end of the
course (exam 5, new material on the final exam, and the final
project milestone), there unfortunately isn't time for
reassessment — make sure you prepare well going in and take
advantage of homework, practice problems, and office hours to
make sure you are on track.
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Some standards are assessed more than once over the course
of the semester, such as on both an exam and the project or on
both a midterm and the final exam. A weak performance
performance early on can be offset by stronger, more recent
performance — what you know by the end of the semester is
the key. However, doing well early doesn't mean a standard is
done — standards that resurface later in the semester
(including on the final exam) confirm that your understanding has
held up, not just that you knew it once.
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| Late Work and Extensions |
Daily homeworks and the semester-long project means there is a steady
workload of assignments without much buffer time between them —
while exams are scheduled relatively late in the course in order to
provide time for practice on both homework and the project, things can
quickly pile up if you fall behind.
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Homework: Late homework is accepted for
completeness credit (only) until the exam which covers that
material — homework is for practice and practice is most
valuable before the material is assessed. Homework won't be handed
back if you miss the last collection for those problems, but you are
both welcome and encouraged to stop by office hours to discuss your
solutions.
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Project:
The cumulative nature of the project, with
little in the way of extra time between phases of the project, means
that a late milestone isn't just a late handin — it's also a
late start on everything that follows because in many cases
it's not possible to skip ahead to a later stage without having
completed the previous ones.
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Grace days provided a limited mechanism for late
handins; once they are exhausted, hand in what you have (even if
incomplete) on time. A total of five grace days can be
distributed as desired across the project milestones, subject
to the limitation that a maximum of two grace days can be applied to
any one milestone.
Applying grace days is
self-service — no need to ask permission or provide an
explanation, just email me before the original deadline to let me
know you are using grace days and when your new deadline will
be.
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The reassessment window provides (only) a limited
opportunity to make up for an incomplete handin once grace days have
been exhausted. Hand in what you have on time!
As with attendance, if you are facing something more serious or
ongoing that is affecting your ability to focus on academics over a
longer period, please come talk to me as early as possible — it
is easier to work out a plan before you've fallen too far behind. I
also encourage you to reach out to your dean, as they can help provide
academic support and connect you with the appropriate resources.
No work will be accepted after the end of the
Registrar-scheduled final exam time slot except in the case of
an incomplete.
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| Being Successful |
Coming soon!
There are many resources to help you be successful in the course:
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The primary resources for this course are the course website and
the materials provided in class, the textbook, and office hours.
Start with these! (If you can't make the scheduled drop-in
office hours, email me to arrange another time.)
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For more general help, such as with writing, study skills, or time
management, you are encouraged to check out the Center for Teaching
and Learning (CTL). See the CTL Syllabus Statement below.
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Your dean is an important and valuable resource. See the HWS
Deans' Syllabus Statement below.
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For accommodations, see the Office of Disability Services
Syllabus Statement below.
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For help or support
with mental health or other issues, contact
the Counseling
Center, or reach out to me, your dean, or anyone else you feel
comfortable talking to.
Finally, if there is something related to the course format or materials
that would help you be more successful in the course, please come
discuss it with me.
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