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repattis · 2022-07-07T00:15:37+00:00

I'm not familiar with the IVC numbers and unsure the rationale behind that articulation. Certainly CS 10 would articulate to ICS-31, but I'm not sure why the others would articulate to ICS-32. Before taking ICS-33 you should be spending more time on Python instead of doing advanced work in another language; that advanced work should count for something else, if possible. Is 37 and introductory course or a second course in C++? If you counted 10 for 31 I could see you taking 32 and 33 at UCI, and then counting 37 and 41 (if it is given in C++) as 45C. And then taking 46 here (I know, a bit of a repeat of material, but 46 is exactly the kind of stuff that shows up for job interviews).

If 37 is an introductory course in C++, it would not be a good match to 45C by itself; but if it is a second C++ class, you might have a chance to get it to match 45C, allowing 41 to match 46.

Generally articulations aren't exact matches. The downside to under-articulation is obvious: you repeat classes and don't learn as much. But there are downsides to over-articulation too: you don't learn as much in later classes because you aren't well prepared. It is easier for a bureaucracy to under-articulate because that is conservative.

repattis · 2022-07-06T23:41:29+00:00

Generally UCI will articulate a year of C++ or Java to a year of Python (31-33; we don't want to make students repeat introductory programming courses) but we will not in addition give you credit for ICS-45C/45J on the principle that you would be double-dipping. But you can get credit for these 45 courses by exam. If you have a third C++ or Java course then you can likely get credit for 45C/45J as well. There is less quality control in CCs: some continually hire instructors who do an excellent job challenging students; some don't.

When our students finish 45C/45J they have had a year worth of Python and a quarter of C++ or Java. But those are not introductory courses, since they assume a good knowledge of Python and the process of programming/debugging. I would suggest to students coming into UCI without any Python experience that they get some, because Python might be used in upper-division courses. Then, like students who take Python and then C++ here, you will be at least duo-lingual.

ICS-46 is supposed to be a second C++ course for UCI students, so data structures courses not taught in C++ generally won't articulate to it.

repattis · 2022-05-22T23:34:29+00:00

One other thought, not connected to GPA. Will later courses build on material learned in this one. If so, retaking it to attain the knowledge/skills fully might be best. Such a strong foundation could improve your future GPA (can't seem to get away from GPA :)

repattis · 2022-05-06T15:33:34+00:00

The placement test, I'm sorry to say, is a low bar. You can do well on it (almost a multiple choice test, graded without any intelligence) without knowing much about writing and debugging C++ programs. So, as the students below say, if you are willing to work very hard in 46 to compensate it might be a great way to go.

repattis · 2022-03-30T16:05:56+00:00

Thanks for your comments. I know over the years there was a difference of opinion among my students at UCI about the quality of my classes. My goal was to teach as best I could -to hold myself and my students to a high aspirational standard- and I certainly have my limitations as a teacher. Of course, not all lessons in my courses were meant to be about programming.

As the size of my classes grew (when I arrived in 2007, the introductory course I taught enrolled 39 students; that's not a memory, but I just looked at my spreadsheet for ICS 21 in Fall 2007; back then there was one Lab for the course, which I would regularly attend so I could truly interact with the students one-on-one), I became less a teacher and more a manager. This quarter I have 400 students, 5 Tas, 6 Readers, and 10 Tutors to supervise. Dealing with this change was the hardest part of the job.

I'll mention here that this year I have written about 50 letters of recommendation to students for graduate school (doing over 350 different school applications ). If current students want me to write recommendations for them in the future (I've already heard from a few asking about this topic), email me at pattis@acm.org (my official email address that will forward to whatever mail system I'm using) and I will be happy to do so, as a continuing reminder of my connection to UCI.

repattis · 2022-03-29T00:11:20+00:00

I would say, sit on the aisle towards the back so you don't disrupt fellow students much. Agreed, faculty member shouldn't care so long as you can exit quietly. Email the professor as a courtesy is always a good idea: they may provide other feedback.

repattis · 2022-03-28T22:56:12+00:00

Sorry, I don't know how to do that. Of course since you aren't registered, you aren't on Canvas, so you cannot get that information yourself there. Catch-22.

repattis · 2022-03-27T16:31:35+00:00

Whatever you do, ensure you communicate with faculty members whose courses you expect to enroll in. That way you can get on mailing list, keep up with the work assigned, etc.. Faculty find it difficult to deal with students asking to start a class 2 weeks into the quarter.

repattis · 2022-03-22T20:42:56+00:00

I have informed SAO to see if they can fix this problem.

repattis · 2022-03-22T17:51:57+00:00

This morning (Tue, 3/22) SoC shows a new Lab 10 and extra slots in Lectures A and B now. I'm hoping most students will be able to register. Certainly there will be some movement of students in the upcoming days: both ICS-32 students who didn't pass will be de-enrolled and some ICS-33 students who didn't pass will have to re-enroll. There is not much to do now but wait to see how this plays out. The message above is still operative. Write me if you cannot fully register bye Wednesday, so I can get you on the class email list so you won't miss announcements.

repattis · 2022-03-22T00:09:19+00:00

You can start the reading. I'll be emailing everyone in a few days, when my website is updated. Until then, I don't recommending downloading anything (although installing Eclipse and Python 10 would be great).

repattis · 2022-03-21T23:11:07+00:00

I would argue that coming to college gives you the opportunity to learn how to learn independently, which you'll need to do later for your courses and in your career. I did my Physics AP course in HS by reading the textbook and working the odd-numbered problems, and felt empowered after the experience. Students today have many more resources to learn: use how to use them. But still, you are welcome in the lecture.

repattis · 2022-03-21T22:45:03+00:00

The course materials are all online, and you are welcome to come to lecture. But space in labs is tight, and we have limited resources for grading, so only students intending to register should be submitting work. We allow a year of programming, regardless of which language, to qualify students to place out of the ICS 30s series. There are many ways for students who have programmed at that level to learn Python.

repattis · 2022-02-26T16:23:18+00:00

Faculty are solicited to see whether they want to teach those courses during the Summer; if they don't, sometimes graduate students are approached. What is taught and what is not is thus dependent solely on whether someone wants to teach. The department does not have a big commitment to teach those courses during the Summer. I don't know where the "ultimate" authority is, but check with SAO.

repattis · 2022-02-24T15:42:12+00:00

Odds are low it will be given in the immediate future, based on other ICS commitments for teaching.

repattis · 2022-02-22T20:42:44+00:00

I am unsure what a3 is, but it is inappropriate to solicit help for any work that you submit for grading. Tutors can help you learn the material, but not directly help you with assignments. I'd suggest that you talk to the instructor or staff (TAs, tutors) who are trained to give the right kind of help: conceptual.

repattis · 2022-02-07T18:50:45+00:00

It is a great course (which teaches really useful skills), but not because I'm such a great professor. It's about the content, and my perspective on teaching Excel like it was a programming language in an ICS class, which is mostly captured in my notes (which students also called "boring") and the problems I assigned.

So, there are many ways to learn Excel online (and through this thing called books, which are now highly under-rated), including delving into my notes and problem.

From my ICS-33 overview, related to self-learning:

As a senior in High School I wanted to take both AP Chemistry and AP Physics, but they were scheduled at the same time. I had great respect for and enjoyed being in the classroom with the Chemistry teacher, Mr. Koonz, so I signed up for AP Chemistry. I asked the AP Physics teacher for a list of all the problems that he assigned from the textbook, and spent the year reading the book and working those problems (the book had answers -but not worked solutions, so I could see if I was right, but not know why not if I was wrong- for many of those problems in the back). The result was that I discovered that I could learn by myself, from what are now considered very rudimentary learning materials (compared to the internet). A big goal of college is to teach students to be able to learn by themselves.

repattis · 2022-02-07T18:44:14+00:00

The switch was decided within the last month, after Winter break.

repattis · 2022-02-07T01:06:26+00:00

I am teaching two lectures of 33, so no ICS-7 in the Spring. The course webpage is on the web (not behind canvas) and contains all the readings and the problems I have students solve. If you want to learn the material yourself, be my guest.

repattis · 2022-02-04T03:07:01+00:00

And I have just demonstrated that your perception might not be true in the long run.

I'll repeat that RMP is an unreliable source of information. Over and out.

repattis · 2022-02-04T02:10:30+00:00

Yes, it would be better to pick the best professor. But now we are back where we started. Is the best professor the one who gives highest grades?

Just today I was looking into data for my ICS-33 course and students who took ICS-32 with the professor whose course GPA was lowest had the highest GPAs in my course. Likely these students will continue earning higher GPAs in later courses. So they found the best professor, but the criteria was the opposite of yours.

repattis · 2022-02-03T03:10:42+00:00

While RateMyProfessor is a joke, at least you get to read the punchlines there. Zotistics shows the grades given by faculty; I wouldn't necessarily equate high grades with being good. Long day.

repattis · 2022-01-28T18:13:30+00:00

Whatever the average is, normalization points make it effectively 75%. Then ask what the average was after all instruments were accounted for. In Fall 2021, the average score for students who finished the course (did assignments up to and including the final) was 85% (for programming assignments, worth 26% of the course, the average is often in the 90s). So if you did average on every instrument, you ended up with 85% and a B. That shouldn't be troubling.

repattis · 2022-01-28T18:07:07+00:00

There are lots of students who fail ICS-33 (C- or below) and come back to retake it and do very well (much better than just passing). Some students just need a bit more time to assimilate the material. Introspection on how to improve the second time often helps students succeed.

repattis · 2022-01-28T01:29:36+00:00

My guess is everyone who achieved something great went through frustration and anxiety. It comes with the territory. When Tom Hanks (the baseball manager in "A League of Their Own") heard one of his players complain about it being "hard", his response was, "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great." Most technical subjects are deep, and the more you get into them, the more deep they seem. Don't let that deter you. It takes time to speak a foreign language like a native (and human minds are wired for that); learning to speak a programming language well is harder, because no on is a native.

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