Pennsylvania Governors School for the Sciences (PGSS)
Computer Science Core
Summer 2013
Syllabus + Resources + Course Policies
Course Staff:

Instructor:  David Kosbie (koz)
TA's:  Rob Johnson (robj @ mit.edu), Dan Kirby (dkirby)
Required
and
Optional
Textbooks
and
Online
Resources:
Required
Software: 		We will use Python version 2.x (or sometimes 3.x), which can be freely downloaded from python.org.  We will also use one or more free IDE's (code editors) and other free software packages.  We will not use any commercial software packages in this course.
Course
Requirements: 		Active Participation in this course is required and consists of the following activities:
  • Attending and participating in all lectures.
  • Reading the printed and online notes and other assigned readings.
  • Carrying out homework assignments.
    		•
    Grading: There are no formal grades in this course.  Consequently, there are no formal exams or quizzes in this course. We may have an informal quiz now and then to help us adjust scope and pacing.
    Programming
    Assignments:

    While the programming assignments are an important part of the course, we understand that many of you do not have prior programming experience, and our whirlwind introduction to programming will not be enough for you to be confident programmers.  And yet we are assigning programming homeworks, because those are the best way to understand the material, and to make it come alive.  Just try your best, work productively in your groups, and use your resources wisely, especially the TA's, piazza, and the instructor.
    Collaboration:

    Solo Homework Policy:

    When homework exercises are marked Solo, students are encouraged to talk to each other, to the course staff, or to anyone else about the assignments. This assistance, though, is limited to the discussion of the problems in general.  Each student must develop his or her own solutions to the homework. For Solo exercises, consulting another student's solution is prohibited, and submitted solutions may not be copied in whole or in part from any source.

     Collaborative / Group-Based Homework Policy:
    Most homework exercises will be marked Collaborative.  Here, you should work with the other students in your group, even writing code together, and certainly debugging each other's code.  Also, even when working in a group, you may not simply copy solutions from anyone or anywhere.  In all cases, you must be intellectually involved in the authoring of everything you submit.

    Online "Help" Policy:

    Do not post any course content, nor any questions related to any assigned material, to any online venue.  Instead, work with your groupmates, your classmates, your TA's, and your instructor.  We have all the resources you need right here, in person.  Use them!
    Classroom: Recording (audio or video):  Students may not record lectures or recitations without explicit permission in writing from the instructor. Violations will result in your removal from the course. Exceptions will be granted in accordance with university guidelines for accessibility concerns, but even then such recordings may not be shared publicly or privately and must be deleted at the end of the semester.

    Electronics:  Students may not use any electronic devices in lecture (no cell phones, laptops, iPads, iPods, iWhatevers, etc) without explicit permission in writing from the instructor.  Students are expected to take notes, but to do so manually (pen and paper).
    Well-being &
    Happiness    		 We care very much about your well-being and happiness.  Yes, CMU students (and faculty) work hard, sometimes very hard.  But we must keep our balance and always attend to our well-being and happiness.  That comes first, academics follow.  So be sure to get enough sleep, eat right, exercise regularly, and attend to your well-being and happiness.  Here is a list of ideas that might help.

    In any case, know that we DO take your well-being seriously.  This course can be stressful, but we regularly take measures (mostly based on very helpful student feedback) to reduce that stress as much as possible.  And we always welcome your feedback, if you have ideas on how we can improve on this (or any other) front.

    Finally, if you are feeling overly stressed, or anxious, or unhappy about your performance or your general experience in this course, please do come talk to us.  We will listen.  We are here for you and we will try to help.