CS 373: Final Entry

How well do you think the course conveyed the following takeaways?

• test first, test during, test after, test, test, test
• when designing algorithms, demand the weakest capabilities (e.g. iterable vs. indexable)
• when designing containers, provide the strongest capabilities (e.g. indexable vs iterable)
• build decorators on top of containers, iterators, and functions
• utilize the benefits of being lazy (i.e. yield)
• always look for reuse and symmetry in your code
• collaboration is essential to the quality of your code and to your well-being in producing it

I think the course conveyed these takeaways incredibly well. I think that the project structure, especially its lack of direct relevance with lecture material, really reinforced all of the points listed above.

Were there any other particular takeaways for you?

I think my biggest takeaways from the course outside of the list of the ones above were how to learn new technologies quickly rather than thoroughly. The structure of projects in this class forced me to learn only what I needed to in order to complete things on time, which I believe is a very useful skill to have.

How did you feel about two-stage quizzes and tests?

I enjoyed the two-stage tests and quizzes because they forced me to evaluate my mistakes and learn from my peers while everything was still fresh on my mind. My grade was not the only thing that went up from this model, the amount I learned did as well.

How did you feel about cold calling?

I really enjoyed the cold calling as well. I found it made the lectures much more engaging and I felt Dr. Downing had a great interest in making sure I understood things when I was called on.

How did you feel about office hours?

Office hours were a great resource for me. I only went a handful of times and somehow every time I ended up seeing Larry Ukoama but Larry was so helpful and I always got the help I wanted.

How did you feel about lab sessions?

I’m not sure what the difference between office hours and a lab session is so I don’t think I went to any, but I could be wrong.

Give me your suggestions for improving the course.

I really do think this was a fantastic course. This is minor and perhaps not feasible, but I do think that this class would be better served with Tuesday/Thursday lectures in order to have a more contiguous lecture following long quiz periods.