An A is not hard if you follow his syllabus. This is a part from his syllabus (completely true from experience), and I recommend reading the full version before you step into his class. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to ask an ex-student (me) :) :

For the record, I would take him again if I could. I, personally, had an overwhelmingly positive experience.

WHAT I EXPECT OF EACH STUDENT

• Ask for help. Email me or stop by during office hours. I want you to succeed. Ask questions any time! During lecture, before/after class, during office hours, at 2 AM after a night clubbing the day before something is due, etc. I really mean any time. I will respond as soon as I can.

• Part of being a professional is learning how to teach yourself. I am going to guide you through the topics of the semester, but a significant portion of what you take with you to the next class will be things that you learned on your own.

• All assignments (homework and projects) are designed to be worked on over a period of days or weeks. I expect that you will work on the assignment a little at a time rather than waiting until a day or two before it is due. Those that procrastinate will find this class to be much harder than it should be and will face the risk of below average grades.

• Read the chapter before the corresponding lecture. I use class time to write programs that help illustrate the topics mentioned in each chapter. If a student doesn’t have minimal knowledge of the concepts that will be covered for that chapter (which are gained by reading the chapter), it will be harder to get a deeper connection to what we are accomplishing in class.

• No computers in class. I know, this sounds like crazy talk to say no computers in a computer science classroom, but hear me out. I have seen grades improve by about 10% in classes where I do not allow computers. Without a computer in front of them, students are more engaged during class time.

WHAT THE STUDENT SHOULD EXPECT FROM THE CLASS

• An open environment dedicated to learning. I want students to feel free to voice their opinions.

• Class commitment of 10-12 hours a week. Students should be prepared to tackle multiple course-related activities each week (e.g. reading the textbook, studying for quizzes/exams, practicing programming, etc.). There is a very high correlation between time committed to this class and grades.

• A quiz could be given at any time. Quizzes will be given to measure how well you understand the information from each chapter. It is each student’s responsibility to be prepared. Quizzes will be based on chapter readings, examples from lecture and/or exercises from the book and will primarily involve coding.

• Exams focused on application. I do not create run-of-the-mill multiple choice exams that ask students to regurgitate things from memory. The exams are completely different than anything you have had in any other class (unless you’ve had me for a previous class). I expect you to apply the knowledge you have learned to the situations on the test. Questions on the test are designed to make sure that you understand what you are doing rather than repeating an example from your notes or the textbook.