The course meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:15-2:30 in Bioscience 111.
Staff
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Professor
Owen Astrachan
- office: D241, LSRC
- email: ola at cs.duke.edu
- AIM: ola314159
- phone: 660-6522
- office hours: Tuesday 11-12, Thursday 1-2, whenever my door is open.
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Grading
Grading is done on an absolute, but adjustable scale. This means that there is no curve. Anyone earning 90% or more of the total number of points available will receive a grade in the A range (A- to A+); 80% = B, 70% = C, 60% = D. This scale may go down, but it will not go up. In Compsci 82 we use a 4.0 scale in grading everything. This means we use 3.0 for a B and 4.0 for an A. The grade of 2.0 is a C. Grades on all assignments will be translated to this 4.0 scale.
What is an A in Compsci 82?
You can earn an A- based on the average of the work you submit, i.e., if you average above 3.66 you are certain to get an A-. To receive a grade above A- you must exceed expectations. This means you must do everything required very, very well or you must do more than is required and do this well. In other words, to earn an A you must do more than merely meet expectations, you must exceed them.Grades of A+ are possible. To receive an A+ you must exceed expectations, be intensely curious and inquisitive, make the class a wonderful experience for everyone, and write an optional final paper.
What You Turn In
You'll read and think a fair amount in this course, or at least you'll be asked to do so. Different things you turn in for credit count differently toward your final grade. The percentages toward your final grade for each kind of work you turn in are given in the table below.
| What you do | Percentage of Final Grade |
|---|---|
| Reading Synopses | 18% |
| Quantitative Problems | 10% |
| Online Quizzes/Surveys | 10% |
| Inclass/group work | 15% |
| Peer Assessment | 5% |
| Monday Questions | 5% |
| Goodness Points | 7% |
| Midterm | 15% |
| Final | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
Readings and Groups
There will be readings assigned most weeks, see the syllabus for topics and the readings page for a list of all readings. The class is divided into three groups and each group will turn in three synopses of the readings spread throughout the semester.Details of the synopsis you turn in are available, the main idea is to distill and condense the readings and your reaction to the readings into roughly three pages you write and turn in.
Synopses, other written work, and most work in general will be graded on a the following four/4 point scale:
- 0 means not turned in (think F)
- 1 is poor to barely acceptable (think D to C-)
- 2 is acceptable (think C to B-))
- 3 is good (think B)
- 3.5 is very good, (think B+ to A-)
- 4 is excellent (think A)
Late Policy
You'll submit your work online. In general work will be due on Thursday at midnight. You'll likely use either the web or Blackboard to submit work. If you write a synopsis we expect you to submit a .pdf file. We will not grade work submitted in any other format. We don't care about midnight vs. 2 am vs. 4 am, but after Prof. Astrachan gets to work on Friday and has a cup of coffee your paper is late.Please use the Trinity Illness Forms on the web as necessary, and understand its limits. Papers turned in before class on the Monday after they're due will receive a 1 point deduction. Papers will not be accepted after the Monday class.
Class Attendance Policy
You should come to class. If you don't attend you'll miss getting information first-hand, meeting your old and new friends, participating in discussion, and attending some (hopefully) first-rate talks. You can't do the in-class, group work if you're not in class.On those Mondays and Wednesdays when we have an outside speaker you're expected to attend class. We know you won't make every one of these classes, but we expect you to try. To encourage such efforts we'll have a short three question response (you can think of this as a quiz if that helps, but if you listen to the speaker you'll know the answers) at the end of each such class. On those days we don't have an outside speaker scheduled in advance, there may be a spur-of-the moment response. Expect roughly eight responses during the semester, for a total of 24 answers. Full response credit will allow you to miss two classes. If you're going to miss more than two visitors you must notify the instructor by email in advance that you'll miss class .
We'll have group questions on many days. These are questions you complete as a group during class. You must be present in class to earn credit for these. Sometimes we'll provide answers to the questions as part of the class. For full credit you must earn 75% of the points. If you miss class because of an excused absence that will not count against you, you'll need 75% of the points for the classes you are not excused from.
Collaboration
Any work in this course that does not include an explicit policy about working with others is assumed to be work you do on your own. You'll somtimes be given work to do with explicit permission to collaborate. Without such permission your work is your own.
Final Paper
To receive an A+ you must do a final paper/project. It's possible to receive an A without doing a final paper, but you must do everything in the course at an A level to ensure an A. You can slip a little and still receive an A if you do a final paper. Specifics about the final paper/project are available.