UC Berkeley EECS CS302 : Designing Computer Science Education Spring 2021

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.

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'll take the first fifteen minutes of each class and share the many joys and challenges of our lives, department politics, cheating students, conference travel, paper reviewing, writing a book, tenure and promotion, time management, balancing a home, etc. The rest of each class will be spent having students sharing and reflecting on their homework from last week, followed by a roundtable discussion about the topic of the week. This discussion will set you up for the following week's homework. We ask that you turn your homework in via Google Docs by 11:59pm one day before class (here Wednesday night), and use the following day (Thursday) and morning (Friday) to comment and reflect on each other's work before we meet. We'll also use Slack for any miscellaneous discussion and feedback. If you are not in the Slack, please email Zoe Plaxco. You'll probably learn as much or more from the feedback of your peers (in this peer review model) as you will from us.

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.

 News

Weekly Schedule

Semester Schedule (subject to change)

Teaching Professor Dan Garcia ddgarcia@cs.berkeley.edu (510) 517-4041 Pronouns: He / Him

Lecturer Pamela Fox pamelafox@berkeley.edu Pronouns: She / Her

TA Zoe Plaxco zap.plaxco@berkeley.edu Pronouns: She / They

Reader Victor Huang vortic.berkeley.edu Pronouns: He / Him

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:

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

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