Grading Policy

Your course grade will be determined completely by 10 programming assignments and submission of a pattern theatre.

Each day late results in a one-letter grade drop on the assignment.

Timely submission of a Pattern Theatre is required for an "A" in the course. If you submit the pattern theatre late, it will result in a one-letter deduction on your overall grade.

Your grade may be affected by your course participation. If you participate well in class and your final grade is borderline, active participation and a good pattern theatre may encourage me to bump the grade up to the higher grade.

Grade Scale

Each assignment will be graded "A", "B", "C" or "F". I will write comments describing your grade.

Note that when I determine the final grade, I do not use a percentage scale (A=100, B=90, C=60, etc). I use a 4-point scale (A=4, B=3, C=2, F=0).

General guidelines:

A On time, working, and good design
B Not quite working, or
Bad design/bad style, or
One day late (but would have otherwise been an "A")
C Little apparent effort, or
Will not compile, or
Will not execute properly, or
Very bad design, or
One day late (but would have been an "B"), or
Two days late (but would have been an "A")
F Plagiarism
Three or more days late
No apparent effort
Not turned in

Distribution of Grades

It is possible for everyone to get an "A" in this course. I will not be applying any sort of curve or other means to artificially distribute grades.

I will be looking closely at your efforts in this class. An "A" grade in this course requires a good deal of effort. Do not expect an "A" if you start your programming assignments a few nights before they are due...

Let me repeat that. Do not expect an "A" if you start your programming assignments a few nights before they are due...

Basically, if you do all the work well and on-time, you will get an "A" for the course. If you do all of the work on-time but are having trouble with the concepts, you'll likely get a "B" for the course. If you're in danger of a lower grade, I will speak with you as soon as it becomes apparent to me.

Keep in mind this is a 700-level course. This course is a good amount of work to complete. I do not recommend you take it concurrently with another heavy-workload course.

Discussion Participation

I love a great discussion. Last term's students asked some great questions and really got some good discussions going.

Never assume my opinion is the only opinion that counts! Without everyone expressing various opinions, we'd never evolve how we do anything!

All students are expected to participate in discussion. This does not mean that you have to say something in every class, but if you aren't participating, it becomes obvious throughout the term. Participation means asking questions, making comments, and, at very least, keeping your eyes relatively open. You can participate by

Pattern Theatre

Scripts must be submitted by email or ftp by 9pm on the Monday before your assigned session.

Pattern theatre is a real-life enactment of a design pattern. You will prepare a script (and props, if necessary) for several of your fellow students to act out. This play must not be about software; it must involve real-life interactions that are analogous to the patterns you present. The goal is make a pattern clear by showing everyday interactions. I will follow your theatre with a discussion of the pattern, linking it to the theatre you've selected. I've found that this approach makes it much easier to understand and apply software patterns.

You should aim for your pattern theatre to last around 5 minutes. If you think it will be longer, please consult with the instructor.

Humor helps! Last term, most of the students added a bit of humor to their pattern theatres. This makes them much more entertaining and memorable. Please remember to keep it clean, though!

Scripts must be submitted by email by 9pm on the Monday before your assigned session. You can prepare your script using HTML, Word, or any other text editor. If you would like to use a different format, please speak to the instructor beforehand.

Make sure you start thinking about your assigned theatre immediately. A sure-fire way to miss an "A" in this course is to wait until the last minute to start working on your assignments.

Materials need not be formal; I won't be grading on perfect grammar. Content is key. The goal is to enlighten the other students (and possibly the instructor) on how a pattern can be "visualized" in the real world.

Once again, scripts must be submitted by email or ftp by 9pm on the Monday before your class session. If scripts are not turned in on time, your grade will suffer! If you know you cannot turn in the materials on time, contact the instructor. If there are extenuating circumstances, the instructor may waive this penalty.

Note that it is extremely important that you attribute any sources used in your research, especially when any external content (such as pictures or copied text) is included in your script. See the Academic Integrity notes below.

Style

Write your script in your own style. Remember you're not being grading on formality, or on public speaking techniques. You're being graded on how well you get your point across.

Programming Assignments

See assignments for more information.

Academic Integrity

All work in this class must be your own. If you reference anyone else's work (inside or outside the class), I expect that you attribute that reference. You can discuss lectures and assignment descriptions, however, you cannot work together on programming assignments.

Students must adhere to the Academic Integrity policies of the University. Students found violating the policy will receive a zero on the assignment and the matter will be referred to the dean. This includes (but is not limited to) copying with attribution and permission, working together on assignments or the project, or otherwise misrepresenting your work. Contact the instructor if you have any questions about this policy.

A note on Plagiarism

In two terms in the past I have caught students plagiarizing. I am required to be strict and gave a 0 on the plagiarized assignments and report this conduct to the program chair.

Note that I am very good at spotting plagiarism, and I will discuss it in the first class.