CMU 15-539: Computer Science Pedagogy, Fall 2017
Homework 6
Due Mon 9-Oct at 11:59pm


As with hw1, this hw is optionally collaborative (except where indicated otherwise).

What to submit to autolab: a single zip file, hw6.zip, which contains a single folder, hw6, which itself contains all the files required for this hw.

  1. Logistics
    1. Teammates + Credits
      At the top of your hw submission file, list your hw teammates (if none, list that). Also, clearly list any other credits -- any sources you used in any way for this hw.
    2. Timesheet
      Keep a log of your time investment in 15-539. Record day/duration/activity, and then a weekly total. Submit this detailed timesheet in your hw writeup. In addition fill out this Time-Reporting form with the summary data of the week's time. Note that this will not directly impact your grade, but rather will just help us pace the course properly, so please report accurately.

  2. 15-104 + Regional High School Tutoring and Reflection Exercise
    As with hw4, everyone should do at least one tutoring session, whether for 15-104, or for one of our various regional high school outreach efforts (we have 3 active now, and 1 more coming online any day now). Everyone should participate. Please include a brief reflection in your hw6 submission, focusing on how you can bring something back to 539/CS-Academy.

  3. Amazing Ideation Exercise
    (No code writing, just ideating)
    Work solo on this. As we discussed in class, everyone should come up with one super-clever, strikingly original, deeply engaging, highly motivating non-traditional classroom activity. Our canonical example is Kahoot, which was good fun, definitely outside the flow of our CS1 exercises as we imagine them, yet also still on point educationally. It was relevant, even though unusual, engaging, and fun. We need more ideas like that. They should have minimal "activation energy" -- they should be easy to start, for teachers and students, without complex rules or procedures. They should not require too much time -- say 5 minutes on the low end to maybe 20 or 30 minutes on the very high end. Everyone needs just one idea. State the idea. If the idea already exists, provide links to relevant sites, video demos, etc. Be sure to explain it clearly and completely, but still briefly. One paragraph, max.

  4. CS1 Animation Framework Testing + Reflection
    Do this part solo. See @97 and @98. Some of you will start this on Friday, and it will be due Saturday noon (earlier is better). The rest will start this Sunday or even Monday or perhaps Tuesday, as soon as we can post it (taking the comments from the first group into account), with it due noon the day after that. Either way, this part of the hw (and just this part) has a short turnaround. (Thanks!)

  5. Team-Based Exercises
    Each team that you are on will assign its own team-specific hw6 exercises. Submit those along with the rest of hw6, in your hw6.zip file.