Evaluation Comments
| Term: | Winter 2017-2018 |
| Course: | CSC 447 810 |
| Course Name: | Concepts of Programming Languages |
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Summary View
What are the major strengths and weaknesses of the instructor?
- Clear, upbeat, and cheerful lecturer, very well prepared, fantastic grasp of the concepts in play.
- Prof. Riely is a fantastic lecturer. He interacts with students really well and is very comprehensive in his explanations.
- Fantastic lectures and accompanying slides, really organized, funny, makes the content interesting. My favorite professor in the program so far!
- Strengths:-Professor takes time to ensure that everyone understands the material. Gives plenty of opportunities for practicing, asking questions, and reviewing. -Reachable via email outside of class.-Very knowledgable about current trends in programming languages as well as historical backgroundWeaknesses:-Tests provided for the homework assignments are not comprehensive. On some problems, incorrect code may actually pass all of the test cases.-Some time is wasted in class troubleshooting network connectivity issues, demos not working properly, fumbling over syntax.
- Strengths - functional programming is a really hard concept, but Riely's upbeat nature made it fun.Weaknesses: I felt a slight disconnect between learning the theory and being able to apply it (either at work or on exams). His slides were a bit old and I wish he would omit the examples of C code that no longer compile the same way because systems have changed. His compound, multiple choice questions on exams seemed to be there to confuse. Lastly, I wish we built something to see how powerful functional programming can be: http://www.scalabridge.org/creative-scala-v2.html
What aspects of this course were most beneficial to you?
- The homework was well designed and the quizzes were challenging and interesting. The slides were very helpful.
- I really liked the worksheets and homework assignments--Professor Riely's focus on learning by doing is great.
- Literally everything, great class!
- Scaffolding approach to learning: lecture -> worksheets -> homework assignments -> quizzes -> exams. My major complaint with other CDM courses has been the lack of opportunities to really practice and reinforce the material. This course excelled in this area, allowing students to gradually work up to more difficult concepts. LOVE the hands-on approach this course takes. Every CS class at CDM should adopt this model.
What suggestions do you have that could help improve the course?
- None, great course.
- See comments re: exams.
- Nothing, keep it up!
- -Add quizzes, longer worksheets, and homework assignments for the last three weeks worth of material (JavaScript, subtyping, inheritance, etc.) The last three weeks of this class seem less "put together" than the first half and offer less opportunity for guided practice. -Definitely scrap the Mitchell textbook and replace with something that is more closely related to the course material. Horstmann's Core Java for the Impatient follows the lectures nicely and I found myself reading this quite a bit during the quarter. Keep the Scala text.-Add a small project to this course. In some respects it feels like we are learning about hammers, screwdrivers, nails, wood, etc. in isolation without building anything with these tools and materials.
- maybe a slightly deeper dive into Java and C at the start (maybe through suggesting some interactive resources or having optional prep work to catch everyone up)
Do you have comments on the grading procedures and exams?
- I didn't care for the midterm multiple-choice format. For part of the exam I think that's fine, but all multiple choice makes it hard to demonstrate mastery of the course objectives, in my opinion.
- Nope, very quick grading turnaround and helpful comments.
- Exams should be given less weight. I say this as a student who received a high grade on the midterm. Worksheets, homework assignments, and quizzes take a fair amount of time to complete, which I have no problem with - I actually enjoy the additional practice. But they should be given greater weight for this reason. Would recommended adding a small project to this course to further reinforce the material and pull several points away from the exams.For CDM administration - please in the future allow students to complete course evaluations AFTER the final exam but BEFORE final grades are given. It is difficult to comment on exams when you've only taken the midterm.
Other comments?
- Thanks to Prof. Riely for an extremely informative and helpful class. I really enjoyed learning more about programming languages!
- Looking forward to taking other classes with you!
- he was fun. I wish he told us more about his background.