CS 302: Spring 2024

Tenative Calendar

Class Meetings: 1-3pm, 606 Soda every Friday

Blank rows will be filled in soon, though topics may change based on need and guest speakers.

Homework assignments which say “Spring 2023” at the top are last years versions. The dates, and minor details will change!

Course staff

Michael Ball

Pronouns: he/him
ball@berkeley.edu

Dan Garcia

Pronouns: he/him
ddgarcia@berkeley.edu

Grading

For the most part, we would prefer to teach this course without grades. What a wonderful concept, learning for learning sake! However, even though we can't change the "system" overnight, we can create grading policies that support learning as much as possible. The various course activities will contribute to your grade as follows:

Overview

The course catalog entry for CS302:

Discussion and review of research and practice relating to the teaching of computer science: knowledge organization and misconceptions, curriculum and topic organization, evaluation, collaborative learning, technology use, and administrative issues. As part of a semester-long project to design a computer science course, participants invent and refine a variety of homework and exam activities, and evaluate alternatives for textbooks, grading and other administrative policies, and innovative uses of technology.

In our own words, CS302 is very probably the last professional development related to teaching you'll ever receive, and the preparation before running your own class. Our meta-goal is to prepare you fully for that position. Though the syllabus and breadth of content for your course is set, we will dive into effectively organizing your course content, delivering lectures and information to students, and managing administration. How does the entirely online setting change staff mentoring and resource access? Ultimately, our goal is to prepare you for the coming summer.

This course is one of the requirements for the graduate teaching minor and a requirement for teaching in the summer session. The course is 3 units, graded.

We hope that you will leave CS302 with every question you've ever had about the teaching side of faculty life answered, and feel confident you'd be able to start your academic career with the wheels spinning, pointed squarely down the center of the road to success.

Goals and Class Norms

It is our intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well-served by this course, that students' learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength, and benefit. It is our intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, culture, perspective, and other background characteristics. Your suggestions about how to improve the value of diversity in this course are encouraged and appreciated. Please let us know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups.

Mental Health and Wellness

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxieproblems, depression, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. UC offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, consider utilizing the confidential mental health services available on campus. We encourage you to reach out to the Counseling Center for support. An on campus counselor or after-hours clinician is available 24/7.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24-hour number any student or faculty/staff person can call to speak with someone about suicide: (800) 273-TALK (8255).

Accommodation

UC Berkeley is committed to creating a learning environment that meets the needs of its diverse student body including students with disabilities. If you anticipate or experience any barriers to learning in this course, please feel welcome to discuss your concerns with the instructors.

If you have a disability, or think you may have a disability, you can work with the Disabled Students' Program (DSP) to request an official accommodation. Thed Students' Program (DSP) is the campus office responsible for authorizing disability-related academic accommodations, in cooperation with the students themselves and their instructors. You can find more information about DSP, including contact information and the application process here.

Land Statement

We recognize that Berkeley sits on the territory of Huichin, the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo Ohlone, the successors of the historic and sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. This land was and continues to be of great importance to the Ohlone people. We recognize that every member of the Berkeley community has, and continues to benefit from the use and occupation of this land, since the institution's founding in 1868. Consistent with our values of community and diversity, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the university's relationship to Native peoples. By offering this Land Acknowledgment, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold University of California Berkeley more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.

Resources

• Tools for Teaching (second edition), by Barbara Gross Davis, Jossey-Bass (2009).
• UC Berkeley's GSI Teaching & Resource Center