How
to Get an "A" in CISC105
- Follow instructions. Read directions before, during, and again
after
you complete an assignment to be sure you are addressing the problem
required, not one of your own making. A beautiful solution to a
problem I didn't assign will not help your grade.
Also be careful to do all parts
of a problem.
- Program five nights a week. Once a day, take one of the
demonstration
programs I wrote in class and code it yourself, compile, run, and
test. What does that code demonstrate? Can you think of a better way?
Email it to me, or bring it to office hours!
- Ask questions, answer questions. Take risks. I will not make fun
of
you. Participation is five percent of your grade, and most of that is
based on your level of participation during lecture.
- Come to office hours frequently. Have a question prepared about
an
assignment, or just ask for another explanation of something we went
over in class.
- Sit near the front of the class. Every semester the bulk of
students
who do very well (not all) sit in the front half of the
room. Conversely, students who fail are predominantly sitting in the
back of the room. Why? I'm not sure, though I can guess at some
reasons. It is easier for me to notice a student looking puzzled if
they are ten feet away than if they are fifty; it is harder (though
demonstrably possible) for a student to fall asleep in the front row.
You could argue that it is the instructor's bias, but that doesn't
explain exam grades, which are blind graded, or labs graded by someone
who doesn't see the seating arrangements.
- Do every assignment, prepare for every quiz and exam.
Terry Harvey