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Scott D. Anderson, but feel free to call me ``Scott'' or ``Professor Anderson'' or ``er, um''; whatever makes you comfortable. My office hours this semester will be discussed in class on the first day, so that we can come up with a set of mutually agreeable times. My office hours will then be listed on my FC resume.
In addition to office hours, please feel free to meet me by appointment. Contact me by email at sanderso@wellesley.edu . My office is room E114 in the Science Center.
We meet on Monday and Thursday from 1:30 to 2:40, and lab on Wednesday, from 2:15 - 3:25.
We'll talk about office hours in class on the first day. I love to talk with students one-on-one -- it's the best part of my job -- so please visit me during office hours. You don't even have to have a question!
Here's a (possibly excessive) course description
No programming prerequisite. Students must have fulfilled the basic skills component of the Quantitative Reasoning requirement.
Instruction will consist of lectures twice a week and a hands-on lab session once a week. Here's a link to the class schedule. Please try to read the lecture notes before class. We will often have some hands-on exercises in class, whenever possible.
The concept of the "one minute paper" has become quite popular in recent years. You are asked at the end of each class to take a minute or two to write down your response to two questions. The questions are
I have found that using First Class works better for doing one-minute emails, so instead of rushing to do this at the end of class, you're welcome to post your message sometime after class.
After each class, please post to the appropriate First Class folder (CS199-drop) your response to these two questions. Try to be brief (imagine it to still be a "one minute" paper, two paragraphs at the most), although you're welcome to ask as many questions as you like. I just don't want people to put it off because they don't have time. Please do this by midnight of the day of the class. I will read all messages, respond to those that need an individual response, and summarize others either in class or via First Class.
The weights for the final grade are:
All exams are cumulative. The midterms are scheduled to be take-home. The final exam will cover the whole course, and will also be take-home. Each homework assignment is weighted equally.
Category Weight Homeworks 40 Project 15 Midterm 1 10 Midterm 2 10 Final exam 25
There is no simulation textbook for this course. I strongly suggest you buy or borrow a copy of the textbook for the QR 199 course (Freund): there will be readings and assignments from that book when we cover topics in probability and statistics.
To save paper, I will typically not make printouts of lecture notes, but if you find it useful, I would be happy to do so. Just let me know.
Since I believe that collaboration fosters a healthy and enjoyable educational environment, I encourage you to talk with other students about the course and to form study groups.
Unless otherwise instructed, feel free to discuss problem sets with other students and exchange ideas about how to solve them. However, there is a thin line between collaboration and plagiarizing the work of others. Therefore, I require that you must compose your own solution to each assignment. In particular, while you may discuss problems with your classmates, you must always write up your own solutions from scratch. It is unacceptable for two students to turn in copies (or near copies) of each other's solutions. I will interpret such a situation as a violation of the Honor Code, and will bring it before the General Judiciary. When in doubt about acceptable levels of collaboration, please ask me for clarification.
In keeping with the standards of the scientific community, you must give credit where credit is due. If you make use of an idea that was developed by (or jointly with) others, please reference them appropriately in your work. E.g., if person X gets a key idea for solving a problem from person Y, person X's solution should begin with a note that says ``I worked with Y on this problem'' and should say ``The main idea (due to Y) is ...'' in the appropriate places. It is unacceptable for students to work together but not to acknowledge each other in their write-ups.
When working on homework problems, it is perfectly reasonable to consult public literature (books, articles, etc.) for hints, techniques, and even solutions. However, you must cite any sources that contribute to your solution. Assignments and solutions from previous terms of this course are not considered to be part of the ``public'' literature. You must refrain from looking at any solutions from previous terms of CS199. It is my policy that consulting solutions from previous terms of CS199 constitutes a violation of the Honor Code.
Many deadlines are somewhat arbitrary, and I understand that students have many obligations. Therefore, I will maintain a "time bank," also called "lateness coupons." Each student gets 5 lateness coupons at the beginning of the semester (these are "virtual" coupons). Each is good for turning in a homework assignment one day late. You may turn in one assignment five days late, or five assignments one day late, or whatever mix you like.
Of course, if you are sick or have some other valid excuse, you need not use your lateness coupons for that. I will still grant extensions for unpredictable events like that.
Note that lateness coupons may only be used for homework assignments, not for the project or for exams.
Lateness can make record-keeping more difficult, so if you don't turn in your assignment with the rest of the class, I'd like you to put a note at the top of it saying whether it is late and by how many days. If an assignment is turned in via a drop folder, I'd like you to mention the lateness in the submission email, just so I don't forget.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
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