Student evaluation comments

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Each comment is labeled as ``no experience,'' ``little experience,'' or ``significant experience,'' depending on how the student answered Question 1.

Question 2

How interesting was the CS core as a whole?

Some needless repetition?

I found the programming section semiinteresting, but I couldn't physically stay awake the last week and I don't remember it at all....

Question 3

How do you rate the amount and quality of what you learned?

All PGSS classes are very good, though.

Question 4

Please evaluate the following aspects of the course.

I think that each aspect was equally apportioned to, and I would really change anything.

like assignments (programming portion)

Alice in Wonderland [next to Web page]

[arrow to Web page] I [heart] SPOT's WEB PAGE! This also had many great links and was very easy to use for help and submissions.

[arrow to TA help] especially Talia and Ethan

The textbook was almost exactly like the lectures. One could read the text & get by w/o listening to the lectures.

[arrow to Web page] It's not that it wasn't helpful, but the material was in the lectures and in the textbook.

[pointer to third column under TA help] helpful but not needed

[arrow to lecture interesting box] Explanation: w/ stick figures: enthralling; w/o stick figures: zzzzz

Question 5

Which of these aspects do you think could use the most work? How would you change it/them?

I honestly did not have time to read the textbook. Instead I found your lecture notes extremely useful. My only advice would be to post them at the beginning of the week so students did not have to go to the webpage each night.

I think the lectures need a little more work - more examples & walk-throughs along with more class involvement (like tic tac toe game played on second to last day).

The lectures got boring at times and droned on. They could benefit from a more interactive experience.

I think it would be helpful to go through strategies for debugging. I still don't know why one of my programs wouldn't work.

textbook - could have used better examples with better explanations

lecture, it could be more basic

I would make the lecture more exciting by having us actually practice the stuff we are learning instead of just hearing about it. Perhaps we could even hold a few classes in the computer lab so that we could practice on the computers.

The lectures sometimes became a bit dry.

I enjoyed this CS Core Class very much. The biggest problem I had was translating the lecture notes' syntax to actually writing the programs for the assignments. Both TAs and CBurch were of great help in the cluster, but I wish I could have been able to do more on my own. So in general, the aspect I think needs the most work is actual explanation of what the syntax in the lecture notes means, so students will have a better understanding of it when they sit down to write the programs.

For me, who has never had any programming experience at all, the lectures could get a little overwhelming at times - I wouldn't even know what to ask. As for the homework, I actually had fun on the programming section, but the written portion was more not helpful to my CS experience.

I think the lectures could have been etter. I think you should have moved slower and go over more examples.

It would be helpful to go over more examples during lecture and making sure the students know how the examples relate. I often had ideas about concepts but was not sure how to use them. Having the web page w/notes and examples helped a lot. It helped to follow along in lecture as well as with all the details + concepts in the assignments.

If there were examples in the textbook that were more similar to the assignments, that would be extremely helpful.

It was an excellent course. Perhaps a bit more emphases on the actual language and detail thereof would make the course even more beneficial. Although, to do so would compromise some of the other course sections, so I don't know.

During the cluster hours it seemed like there weren't enough TAs (etc) to go around. I had to wait for a while hen I had a question.

In lecture, it would be more beneficial if you didn't switch the transparencies so quickly. I had a hard time keeping up with my notes + listening to what you said. I realized one thing + wish I kept up with it though the lectures are on the web... encourage next year's class to utilize them... they will be better off.

lectures - needed to be a little more stimulating - sometimes I couldn't quite follow how CBurch was explaining topics

More TAs would have been helpful. Thank you CBurch for being in the cluster so often!

The assignments could be scaled down a bit, or even better would be to discuss them more in-depth in class.

Most people don't have time to read the assignments. The programming was fun, but for beginners, it's very difficult.

The lectures felt a little choppy because people asked so many questions while we were being taught a new topic. It was little difficult to maintain concentration on the topic due to those interjections.

Sometimes the class lectures went to fast and I got lost. I suggest you go over what each program example actually does and what each line actually tells the computer to do.

Lecture was slow. I felt we could have covered more material.

The 1st 2 weeks were a lot more useful/interesting than the last 2.

It would be good if the written assignments were slightly more comprehensive; we'd learn something, then never try it.

The lecture was OK but it wasn't very interesting for people who know nothing about CS before since we didn't really understand it. The textbook should have more examples & specific & thorough instruction on how to use a new tool in programming.

I think the programming might have been easier to learn if the approach had been if you want to do X, you ought to try a while loop/for loop/if statement/etc. rather than merely saying this is what this while loop does. I feel like I can look at basic code and sort of understand it, but I have a lot of trouble generating it.

While I found all of the aspects interesting and helpful, I thought we could have done slightly more C++ training before the first assignment - seemed a little rushed.

The lectures were not always very clear, and they did not seem to supplement what was in the textbook very much.

Lectures, I believe that more example programs could be used in order to prepare for homework.

start slower - I had no idea how to write programs/pseudocode and felt very stupid in the beginning...

I think the lectures could use the most work. I often felt that too much information was being examined in due to a lack of sufficient time. The topics need to be taught more in-depth in order to achieve full understanding.

Sometimes I felt like I didn't know enough to do the homework - especially the programming. For many of us the concepts were totally new and sometimes I felt like you assumed we knew what you were talking about when many of us had no idea & didn't even feel competent enough to formulate an intelligent question.

It was hard to get help in the cluster when 89 other students were waiting for the 2 TAs. The textbook doesn't ever really give a detailed explanation of how to write C++.

The lecture - sometimes you change the transparencies too quickly, I can't get all the info down.

At times, I would have trouble following lecture. I think it might have been because some of the concepts are a little on the abstract side. (I'm still a bit confused about what public and private keys are.) Also, at the beginning of the course, when everything was being described in pseudocode, I found that rather confusing, but once we switched to code, it made sense to me.

If I had too choose one of the above, I would say that the assignments need to be altered to a slightly lower level for new programmers.

The reason I never used the web page much is just personal. It's a 15-minute walk to Baker so I really appreciate paper course materials so I can work in the dorm at my leisure. The links were all useful and fun, I used them all.

The lectures could include different information than the text. Everything else was very effective and useful.

The cluster help could have used more work since there are always too many people there and not enough TA's to help.

I think that the textbook could be made a little more interesting.

Sometimes the lectures get a bit tedious, but it might just be me.

I am glad that you made an excellent textbook, so we can refer to it after we leave PGSS.

Perhaps the pace of the lectures could be slowed down - I often found myself wishing I could have taken more notes but couldn't.

I would change the lectures so there are more actual type-in examples (typing the program in class so we could see what was happening step by step) projected on-screen instead of all overhead transparencies.

I don't know if it can be done, but you should try to involve students a bit more in class, to keep our attention better.

Many times the lectures were boring and I found it unnecessary to take notes. It was easier to ``catch up on my rest'' and figure it out later. The fact that many (all) of the examples are programs on the screen that we don't/can't write down causes me to sleep (sorry).

Assignments should be able to be completed on our own, so we're not restricted to learning only the part we work on.

The course was well balanced but I did not like using a textbook in the summer.

I think, at least for me, the pace of the lectures could be increased a little, but they are still excellent.

Some of the programming lectures seemed a little slow, although it's understandable considering the amount of questions. Possibly could make people break into small groups to learn and practice a for loop for example.

I think that there should be more CS TA's. For programming, we need individual help. Very rarely was it possible to help a large group at once.

The course would be improved if the textbook contained a more thorough programming reference section.

Everything was excellent.

I think that in class, we should do harder problems (ones similar in difficulty level to the homework) b/c I would understand all the problems + methods done in class, but I would be pretty much clueless on the homework!

I think the lectures became much drier and harder to follow (and stay awake in) when they went into elaborate technical and mathematical descriptions. I'd keep them a little simpler and less technical - with lots more stick figures, especially the underappreciated Krunch. [drawing of Krunch] Ay!

The textbook is somewhat hard to follow but it is not essential to the course. I do not know how to write computer books (and I really can't compare this one to any book - I haven't read any programming books!) All I truly can say is that it's easier to ask someone how to do something rather than look it up.... Maybe that's the way it should be!

More help available would be good... it was difficult to find sometimes

I got lost during the overhead programs. They went by pretty fast.

Lecture - I knew what was covered but I didn't know enough for self-study. Could there be another level?

Put the pointers chapter back in the text. Expand the one on classes.

Lecture - programming was not that interesting and harder to learn on paper. Maybe spend a few days in clusters.

The lectures really went at a pace/level of interest that was too slow to keep me focused or too confusing for me to comprehend. While it may be obvious and mundane to you, for the rest of us it is difficult to learn. It seemed that the easy topics were covered too slowly while the complex ones went too quickly.

The lectures need to be improved. Ideas need to be explained, not just shown.

I loved everything!

Sometimes, aspects of a programming assignment wouldn't be gone over as well as it needed to be in class. This made cluster & TA help more important, and almost all the issues eventually got resolved. However, lectures that were a little deeper might have helped that extra little bit.

Due to by programming xp, I never used the text - so I've no comments on that. In all honesty, though, I can't think of anything to change - the assignments were challenging (the levels -> good idea), the lectures were fun, it was just an overall great xp.

Sometimes, in lecture, the concepts were covered a bit too quickly. Perhaps, it might help to slow down on some of those concepts.

Everything was interesting and fun. There's nothing I would change.

not really... lecture was sometimes a little slow but so are most lectures.

Clone the TAs.... there need to be more people in the clusters.

The clusters were very crowded at times, and many of the computers did not work. Although this is more of a problem with CMU, suggestions could be made to them about the situation. Everything else was excellent!

I don't think any aspects need work. I really liked how the assignments were set-up so that experienced programmers could be challenged while beginners didn't need to take their programs to that level of complexity.

I thought it was a great course.

lectures - one thing I noticed: whenever you would work on a recursion tree or a cryptography problem or any other in-depth problem, many kids would start to zone out. I don't know how you want to look at that - examples are necessary. It's tough, though, @ 8:00 AM after 4 h of sleep to stay with you going through huge recursions of numbers.

Textbook I think we might have used the text a bit more in restrengthening what was taught in class.

I think the class should be more textbook-oriented. It's a really good resource, but we didn't use it that much. The textbook does a good job explaining the syntax - I like it.

Textbook, some of the slides from class could be used to make it a little more exciting.

I think the lecture could use the most work because of the wide ranges in programming experience of the govies.

i never used the web page. but i doubt that that's b/c of the actual page; other resources just seemed ore useful (the TA's were great!)

The assignments, make them more interactive like Go-Fish.

I think the lectures became a bit dry near the end, perhaps because of the confusing topics. I think some of the lectures needed more explanation/review (cryptography, Big-O).

Lectures should be more concepts and showing us how to program rather than going through each line of a pre-written program and just telling us what it does.

I think lectures could use some work, although I'm not sure what needs the most work. Sometimes we will run through a program very slowly which I understand some people need, but sometimes I feel it goes too slowly. Perhaps more examples and examining the structure and not as much running through one example for an extended period of time.

Question 6

How many hours did you spend on each assignment? How were they?

[time on Assn 2:] many, many moons

[pointer to Assn 0] I worked alone on this one. [pointer to difficulty] only because it was my first time

[pointer to Assn 0] My first program ever - thought it was hard, but felt accomplished when I was done.

Note: Never done programming before. It was really an accomplishment to get done.

[arrow to time on Assn 2] WAY too long...

[array to Assn 2] Oh, so many bugs...

first program was hard since i had to become acquainted with codewarrior & C++

Go Fish was the most fun assignment b/c there were many ways to do it and a certain amount of creativity was involved. The panthers program was pretty much spelled out - you jut had to hit the proper keys. Not very thought-provoking. Go Fish was entirely different and I thought much more fascinating. Could more assignments incorporating ``programming creativity'' be made?

[arrow to panthers] This took forever, and the way the pseudocode was written was confusing - it made it seem a lot harder than it really was.

I really liked level 2 panthers. [on Go Fish] learning about network programs was fun.

Question 7

How were the class topics?

[on programming lecture] well-explained

[next to Systems interestingness] I didn't understand enough to judge

Interesting and fun!

Question 8

What would you have liked to have covered more? Less?

less big-O, more programming

I think the amount we covered was just fine. The programming assignments were more interesting so I'm glad we spent more time on them. However, we were a little rushed the last week.

I would have liked to cover more Internet and a little less algorithms.

More on the internet and practical, general aspects of computers. HTML

More on how to come up with algorithms + debugging. I don't think anything should've been covered less.

I would have liked to work more with the network like we did for Go Fish and maybe not have spent so much time on game playing.

Less of game playing + recursion. More programming.

I think that the topics were well distributed, and whenever a topic may have been rushed through or not understood, CBurch alway went back to further explain.

I think that, for beginning programming students like myself, more time should be spent on the fundamentals of programming before moving on to other topics. I do think it is a good idea to divide the class into lecture (for beginners) + self-study (for the experienced) at this point, as it encourages + helps beginners to ask questions.

I wish we had spent more time learning different types of programs instead of the internet/cryptography unit that we did at the end of the course.

More time on the programming basics. Teaching of C++ more. Less on Big O.

I think that the amount covered and the distribution of the material was great. It was just the right amount of programming, and still covered the other aspects of Computer Science.

I really liked the topics that covered actual programming, even though I had to struggle to understand. I personally had trouble applying what was taught to the written portion of the homework.

More about programming.

I would liked to have learned more about aic in making webpages and more on cryptography. I thought that was interesting but didn't really understand it.

I would have liked to have spent more time on programming and less time on things such as cryptography and game playing. For me, programming was difficult and spending more time on it in class may have helped.

Maybe more game-type programming, and more language ``vocabulary.''

I thought everything was interesting (especially Cryptography). I also enjoyed going over the game playing strategies etc. I think there was a good balance of the different topics.

I feel that we covered a great amount of work. I truly learned a lot and really want to continue learning C++. So I'd say we covered a fair amount, not too much and not too little. I would have liked to learn more about programming, but the time that may have been accomplished in was spent learning something else just as interesting.

less -> cryptography, more -> Big-O method, playing go-fish

If we must do programming, then I needed more time with it. The class would be interesting still if we didn't do programming and worked on the history & stuff from the last half also.

More programming

More programming basics. More C++, slower. Less divide and conquer.

I needed more time to understand FishNet, because everything was new for me. I don't feel that anything was covered too much.

go over programs slower and the different types of loops while being ore descriptive and in-depth.

I didn't like cryptography but I did like the Internet server things.

I felt we moved slowly

Less, and solidified the skills more

The amount was about okay, but it would've been good to be able to practice all that we learned in class.

program - more

I don't really have a prob. w/ the topics covered...

I would have liked a brief discussion of the other programming languages, as well as some information on hardware.

I would have liked to have done more with programming, and less with the Internet/cryptography area.

I believe a better background with the internet section would have allowed me to understand the programming homework better. I also felt that the cryptography section was also not covered as thoroughly as the rest.

less if need be to move slower & understand better...

I would have liked to have covered the aspects of programming in much more detail. Spending more time would have reduced the time spent on assignments because I would have a better grasp of material.

I would have rather covered less so that I could leave here having learned something and learned it well enough to do on my own. The way we did everything so quickly makes me feel like I got quantity but not quality.

I never really learned how to write programs. There were too many details (positions of semicolons, uses of brackets, etc) that I couldn't completely figure out.

More programming would be more interesting and less of the Big-O and pseudocode stuff.

I thought the self-study was good , at least challenging. But the lectures in the final 2 weeks were boring, and I learned very little. The better programmers should have something else to do. (I understand the difficulty in teaching CS to various levels.) I thought the topics covered were an odd assortment; personally I would have rather learned just more advanced code than a lot of the stuff we did in the last week.

I did like CBurch's stick figures, especially Spot + Eve.

I would have liked to learn more about Internet programming.

I thought the programming part was really cool and would have loved to have spent more time on it. While I didn't really like Big O notation, I could have used more, slower explanation of it.

more: General program commands; less: internet

I kept up with the lectures until the very last week when I was so tired I could not follow what was going on. Either covering the final few topics more slowly or telling us to read the textbook ahead of time would have enhanced my understanding. The topics are always very understandable once you've read the textbook; it's very good. :-)

Cryptography is an extremely interesting topic to me and both that and programming should be covered more. The internet lectures were not as useful as the programming & cryptography lectures. You should, however, for the interest of everyone keep the same time schedule as before.

Programming with more advanced materials like pointers and linked lists. The course could have covered less on the systems aspects of CS.

I would have liked to have covered more of the basic C++ syntax and learned how to use it well.

I had trouble understanding recursion. That unit was especially dry, and I am pretty sure that it would help to spread it over a couple days in small amounts instead of one big dose.

Though I found the programming very difficult at first, I ``buckled down'' more and worked to do a better job on the later programs than on the first. They weren't perfect, and it took a while to do so, but I did learn. I can't say I've committed the information to memory, however, and doing so would have allowed me to do better on the quiz and utilize less time in subsequent programs. Perhaps there could be more assignments or exercises related to programming, though the book was much help here.

I think the amount of material covered was just right.

I would have liked to work some more on either programming or binary numbers, because they were what interested me the most. I really felt that the Internet portion of the course was non-essential.

I would have liked to learn about how wave/mp3 files work and are run.

Cryptography was interesting, but time was limited. The internet protocol was extremely interesting, and I wish we had had more.

This was an excellent introductory course and to cover more material would mean sacrificing understanding however a more complete coverage of actual C++ syntax would be very applicable outside of PGSS.

I would like to have covered more algorithms.

i thought the course provided a very accurate overview of computer science, and doesn't necessarily need to have anything covered more or less

We should have talked about the internet more.

I would have appreciated more information about the C++ language, and techniques for manipulating this language.

Had time been available, I would have wanted to learn more about programming commands and syntax. A short section of the programming unit dealing with troubleshooting and different types of errors may have been helpful.

I actually think that the course was very well-planned out, and we covered basically the right amount of & a slight variety of computer science that needed to be done. Good work w/ that CBurch!

More programming, less Internet

Less math!

More pseudocode! Pseudocode is very cool b/c it allows one to come up with a process or function w/o worrying about where the next semi-colon is needed...

Lots more... the lectures seemed to crawl... of course CBurch was swamped with ridiculous questions... not really his fault.

Maybe we could have covered less, but really learned the material extremely well. The balance now is good, though.

I would have liked the chance to study classes and objects.

Systems - also more practice on algorithms; Networking

more syntax, less big-O

Higher level C++ programming, maybe including graphics, sound, etc.

More programming practice.

It was great. don't change it

Personally, I love programming, so I'd like to see more of that. However, there seemed to be a good amount right now, and it probably shouldn't change. A little more cryptography, perhaps? It felt like we only skimmed the surface of something that deserved more time.

I would have enjoyed covering a bit on classes - however, I recognize the difficulty in doing this w/ people who've never programmed before. It would have been nice doing more sorts (using big-O) - I've always found that fascinating.

I think more C functions should have been covered.

I really enjoyed the games. I would have liked less Big-O.

cryptography is really cool... so are games although you can only do so much with the topic. Big-O was the topic I enjoyed least but maybe cause I was falling asleep 4th week in general

I wouldn't have mind a little bit more theoretical CS, but that's just me... setting a lower bound to a problem would have been neat, too. But I haven't really got any suggestions for what to get rid of.

I would have liked to have learned more cryptography and internet-related topics/lectures. I already had a year of C++ programming, so I wasn't interested in the coding section (I did do self-study), but I thought the game/internet/cryptography was very good because I haven't been exposed much to it.

I would have liked covering Big-O notation more so that we had an idea how to analyze the harder nested loops.

Recursion

more - how programmers reason through problems. There are many algorithms to one question; which is best? less - cryptography, big-O notation.

I would have liked to have learned a little more on the Internet and the Web. I think we could have skipped the Cryptography poem.

More: I would have really liked to learn about graphics. Perhaps a lecture on today's graphics uses for scientific and gaming purposes... Less: Cryptography and Big-O, I think, are not as interesting and, in my opinion, can be left out.

More focus on the Internet + game playing and less focus on Big-O and algorithms.

I thought the last assignment, Go Fish, was fascinating in that our clients could play each other. I would have liked to of had a better understanding of how it all worked.

i guess the scope/depth is limited due to the time limitations, but i would have liked more emphasis on developing good algorithms for programming, etc.

sorting; AI.

I would have liked more theory and real-world applications rather than programming.

Some of the programming topics were covered way too briefly. The game playing I think was drawn out too long.

I don't think I learned much in the last week. Maybe my brain just shut down.

I would have liked to cover more programming. I know there isn't that much time, but it was my favorite part of the course. Maybe not going through the exact code, but more detail than pseudocode, for how to solve more difficult problems.

Question 9

What other comments and suggestions do you have?

I really enjoyed this class. Though I had no prior experience, I never felt lost or behind. I really enjoyed the assignments & programming. I remember feeling very proud of myself after I completed the NIM program. I was so excited that I had created a game that someone could play with a computer.

P.S. - Thank you CBurch for answering my questions after class!

The course is generally pretty good except that the lectures are somewhat boring, esp. algorithms. I did learn a lot, however, and I can honestly say that my experience w/ CS here has had a great impact on my career choice - so thanks a bunch!

The web page was very helpful + putting the lectures on the web.

The text was more vague.

The programs were hard for beginners but I learned a lot.

The cluster help was very important.

[stick figures for a person and a dog] The Cburch stick figures were a joy to get to know and they helped to liven up the lecture.

I feel that I could take a CS class back at my school and be very far ahead now that I have taken this class!

I loved Spot + CBurch, man, you're awesome. As the secretary of the Official CBurch Fan Club, I truly enjoyed your class to the fullest. Thank you [drawing of a person with a dress] <- me!

I think CBurch was an awesome teacher who made his best effort in having every student understand the material - no matter if they had no computer science experience or a tremendous amount of experience. He was always in the computer cluster whenever we needed him, and he was always ready and willing to help. He wouldn't tell us the answers right away, but would sit and talk us through the problem (whether it be a written assignment or work on the actual programming). Overall, I really enjoyed the class, and CBurch's enthusiastic attitude toward computer science, has helped me enjoy it and make it even more interesting. I feel like I am leaving PGSS with a much better background in computer science than I ever imagined. Thanx, CBurch :-)

I found that when reading the book and trying to do the practice exercises, many of these exercises were really at a level beyond a beginner. Perhaps an easier exercise could be put first to build up to the more difficult ones.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class, and I learned a lot about programming and the field of computer science as a whole. I also really appreciated all the help that I was given on assignments by the TA's. I love the stick figures!!

CS was one of my favorite classes here. I realized computer programming isn't horribly difficult, and it was rewarding to get to see my programs run. Also, I LOVE CBURCH!!!

I love you CBurch!

I loved the stick figures - they kept me awake!

Thanks for the cluster hours - they made the assignment do-able.

I came to PGSS having never written a program before in my life. This course, in addition to the CS lab, has made me comfortable with programming + has given me the confidence to try to learn more!

Arf! I want to be Eve. [drawing of Eve]

Although this class was very difficult for me (esp. @ the beginning), I still enjoyed it greatly. My knowledge of CS has increased an unquantifiable amount, and I am exceedingly grateful for this. Other than the suggestion made on the previous page, I think the course was grateful.

Overall, I feel that this is the course from which I leaned the most because, prior to coming here, I was completely clueless when it came to programming. I was most interested in the actual programming portion when I could apply what I had learned, but had trouble with time limits and understanding on the written portions. A great course!

What I really liked about this course is that now I can basically write a program. CS is not something you can just pick up. you actually have to be taught. I came in with no idea about how to program but through lectures, web pages, assignments, and cluster help I have a basic understanding about how to program. This course has helped my problem solving abilities. [drawing of Spot] spot was my favorite. He should meet my dog Burt [drawing of Burt]! CBurch rocks!

I feel that this course has been one of the most beneficial for me at PGSS since computer science is an area that I had no previous experience in. I certainly feel as if I have learned a great deal from this class. Also, the help and attention that I received when I was confused about programs was great.

Keep up the good work!

It was very interesting to learn about programming etc. It gave me a new perspective and was a very fun core course.

The programming part of the course did seem to advance very quickly (at some points I was slightly lost) but by pushing us and having us write programs using what we learned I think that I more quickly picked up on everything as I was `forced' to learn it quickly.

I really liked the stick figures, especially Spot. (I really liked the overheads with the figure and everything incorporated into them. They made the course fun + very efficiently expressed what was being taught.)

Great course!!

I came into this class not having a clue about computer programming. I only knew how to do my basic windows applications. I never thought that I could learn C++. It was a great ride. I feel that now I could go home + write a decent program (w/ some help). I hope that I continue to learn more about all of this because I seriously enjoyed it. One thing I regret is falling asleep. This is the one class where it isn't smart to. I feel I missed out on some skills + information that would prove to be very helpful + interesting . Cburch; you do a great job. I can tell you really care about this course + helping us learn. Your guidance was truly appreciated + needed. You were always here. I will never forget my odyssey through computer science. Thank you so much.

Your stick figures were awesome! I loved them all (especially Spot [drawing of Spot] Arf!)!! However, what's up with Bob and Alice? Are they having a secret affair?

I'm sorry, but I just can't write codes. I think the class moved too fast for me personally. I needed to review things and go over them and study more. CS was completely foreign to me, but now I do feel I have a basic understanding. I would now be ready to take a whole semester course of CS so I can really work with it.

I was able to follow and understand you and the topics in lecture. However, when it came time for the programming assignments they were incredibly harder and I often felt lost.

Working in groups was great! My partner and I worked well because she knew the programming and I was able to figure out how to solve the problem. Stick figures RULE! Go Spot and Crystal!!! CBurch RULES! (Now would the real CBurch please stand up?) The hat is awesome. Class was interesting, b/c of CBurch and Spot. Never get rid of the stick characters and add new ones each year if possible!!

I liked that there was a different section for more experienced people. And I think you should keep that.

I liked the course however maybe you could divide it up even more based on skill level.

pick up the pace - I felt we had some ``lull'' time in class where we could have been doing more.

Also, sometimes your explanations were not thorough. We jumped to the middle of a program before looking @ its beginning.

just be CBurch

I thought it was cool how CBurch hung out with us. He's probably got better things to do than chill with us.

I came into this course expecting to drop it. I came out feeling very proud that I could actually write a program that worked.

I was surprised how much CS is thinking and not code. This makes me feel like anyone accepted to PGSS could excel at CS, even with no experience, if they just use their head.

Thanks Talia, Amy, Ethan, and, of course, the real CBurch for a great 4 wks. (and Spot [drawing of Spot] Arf!).

You should consider having different levels of classes b/c some people are completely lost while others think it's easy. Your assignments try to be in b/w but that makes it hard for the inexperienced.

I really liked Big-O... I understood it, I'm not sure why. I appreciate being able to write programs in teams... I learned the most in this course from the other students I worked with.

I came to this class w/ no programming experience or interest. I'm still not interested in it, but at least I have some idea of what it's about.

``It was definitely an experience.''

I had never programmed before, but after I had finished Nim, I found the experienced to be extremely satisfying. It opens new ways of problem solving and data analysis, and challenges your ability to sift out the pertinent information and find the fastest root. I found the course interesting, challenging, and rewarding.

Overall this class opened up a world to me that I had never known existed. It was such a novel experienced for me, that I can actually program a computer now. It is a skill that I would never have given a thought to learning without Cburch.

I love the stick figures. I've even designed my own. [drawing of ``Piper'']

On a more serious note, I often had trouble following the lectures because they seemed to skip around a lot between ideas. I know there was a lot to cover, but perhaps they could follow a logical pattern.

I realize that it is difficult since some kids here have taken many, many programming courses and others had never even heard of C++ (like me :-). The self-study was a good idea to help this a little, but there was still a large gap between experienced/talent in the regular core course. Maybe next year they can find some way to have ``review'' sessions to go over basic pseudocode/programming techniques more slowly for those of us who have absolutely NO programming experience.

My main suggestion is to try to go at a slower pace since not many have had adequate CompSci experience.

The Cluster Help was excellent, and the TAs and CBurch were very generous with their assistance.

The class was good in that it has prompted me to pursue further learning of Computer Programming.

I know it's hard to teach to a group with a wide range of experience levels. Maybe if parts of the textbook were written especially for beginners it would be easier for us so we could just read more in depth about what we didn't understand in class.

Include a clear, specific manual on C++ commands in the text for reference when writing programs. The programming assignments are extremely difficult for first-time programmers; I never would have gotten them done if I hadn't joined a group including someone who had previously worked with C++.

The class was pretty boring (possibly because I have no interest in CS). The lectures need to be more engaging to capture the attention of people like me, but also slowed down so we have time to learn this stuff. One more comment -> don't jump around on topics and stay organized. One day we were on programming, then the internet, then back to programs and Big-O notation the day after that.

int class; int exciting; if(class = exciting) { int students; int sleepy; students != sleepy; int happy; cout << "We're happy to learn!" << happy << endl; } return 0;

Slow down when talking and changing transparencies.

Definitely keep the stick figures - it keeps people interested. I really got my love for CS back through this course. I felt overwhelmed and rushed the first two weeks, though.

We adore you! You are one of the greatest teachers ever!

I think that the CS faculty and TAs were some of the most helpful and dedicated in the program (especially cburch). The amount of time you guys devoted to cluster help amazes me and it is greatly appreciated. CS is one of the least available subjects in high school and I think you have introduced it in such a way as to stimulate permanent interest in most of the class. This class was fun, entertaining, and extremely educational (?). I will never forget Spot [drawing here]. Thank you for adding such an enjoyable experience to these four weeks!

CS was a fun and insightful course. The topics were interesting, and they did perform their objective. Keep the programs as they are, and maybe add an additional short written assignment for cryptography and the internet. Overall this was an excellent course, and I wish CBurch best of luck in the future.

P.S. Good TA's!

The programming HW assignments were fascinating and required us to think. They were different from traditional boring programs that are usually given for CS classes. Keep making the HW interesting! The Go-Fish game was very fun.

Never change, CBurch!

This course was fun. Programming can be frustrating, but it can be very interesting also. I like the pride you feel when a program is successfully completed.

Also, it would not be a bad idea to get T-shirts made with the various stick-figure characters on them. I'm sure that many of the govies would buy one.

Thank you for all the time you spend with us at the dorm and in the computer rooms. It is very much appreciated.

in need of none here

Thank you for so willingly providing many cluster hours, maximizing the help - it is appreciated.

CBurch, you're a really cool guy, but what's up with those stick figures?

I loved learning how to program and especially making the programs work!

You and the T.A.'s were always there to help - that's high quality dedication!

I only fell asleep once in your class - Congratulations!

Thank you for a great four weeks; I might even take AP Computers next year because of the influence of your course.

Overall it i very good, it is just that I have/had a problem staying awake. When I was up it was interesting and for the most part you kept the class entertained.

In class, especially with gaming, more information could have been covered if there were less awkward silence and people asking questions that would have been answered in lecture.

I thoroughly enjoyed your course, it made the daunting and intimidating task of understanding computer science actually exciting and completing the programming assignments was quite a thrill.

This was quite a good class. My knowledge and understanding of programming methods was quite increased, especially my understanding of recursion, which is now my favorite form of digital voodoo. I also thought the game logic stuff was interesting, and I'd love to have focused even more on decision-making algorithms. I'll definitely have to read through the textbook at home. Overall, an excellent course!

i thought having the CS assignments due on Monday @ 2:30 was a very good idea. it allowed people to work throughout the weekend, whereas if it were due later in week, people would likely be too caught in other assignments and would end up leaving it for the very last minute.

Perhaps student interest in the lectures would be greater were you to wear the fedora at all times during class.

This course was great - very comprehensive, yet delving into each topic with a fair amount of detail. I am definitely interested in expanding my knowledge base of computer science. Thank you.

If you could come up with a more interesting and applicable program for Assn 1 (panthers), it would be much more useful.

I think the cluster hours (help hours) are absolutely essential, and CBurch & TAs did a great job w/ that.

Definitely keep the stick figures - in particular, Spot :-)

The course made me appreciate Computer Science more. It also helped me to understand how a lot of programs work, which I found fascinating. I did get lost when the lectures branched into heavily mathematical approaches to understanding things, but CBurch was (thankfully) always there in the clusters to give me help when I needed it. CBurch himself was a very good teacher - I appreciated his humor in lectures and overheads, although I felt he did his best teaching during cluster hour. Plus: I love the stick figures, although I felt that Krunch was sadly neglected in favor of Spot, Bob, and Alice. [drawing of Krunch] Arr! Shiver me timbers [drawing of Spot] Arf!

Greater focus on syntax & other capabilities or options on how to use C++. With a little more background on how to use C++ to my advantage early on, it would be simple to jump leaps & bounds on my own by simply reasoning out how to efficiently use C++.

The sequencing of C++ commands is only logical. Give them & we can use them w/o as much laboring over teaching us how to. More focus on ``tricky'' sideways methods of most efficient methods & reasoning of how to come up with our own ``tricky'' methods.

I enjoyed Cburch's class very much

I really enjoyed the course, thank you! (My evaluation might not have been a good reflection of exactly how much I liked it, since I kept the phrase brutally honest'' in mind.)

P.S. I really like your dragonfly tie, my dad has the same one!!!

Use regular arrays not vectors.

Good course! I learned a lot about both programming and theory. CS lab was fantastic, too.

Lab-like programming learning - maybe have programming in clusters.

Overall it was a good course. I like learning, and can learn more easily, by doing. For a large percentage of the course, being at a computer would have helped, especially when explaining code. By far, this course's assignments consumed the most time, which really isn't fair to the other courses. I think a better understanding of the syntax and programming procedure would remedy this problem.

This was a great class; I learned so much in 4 weeks. You're Awesome!

CBurch is the best Programming teacher I've ever met!

CBurch rules. CS core rules. It made every day brighter for me (except Mondays). The stick figures, constant beckoning for questions, and availability for help made for a very nice learning environment. Keep it up! (Maybe I'll be back in 3 yrs!)

Overall, the time period is too short for any ``actual'' hard-core teaching of CS. I think it'd be a bit more beneficial to focus more on algorithms/efficiency/etc. The teaching of code (for, while, int,...) I feel won't be retained as well as concepts such as recursion, stacks, queues, sorting algorithms, internet structure,.... More than anything, CS can teach the ``ability'' to think in logical and efficient ways, and develop crit. thinking skills. Thanks for a great course!!

The course is great. Keep up the good work, CBurch.

The course was very intriguing and the assignments were fun. I liked having the weekend to work on the programs - it would have been very difficult during the week. Good job!

self-study is really cool... I had no C++ experience but I think I picked it up easily and programming is really fun... maybe have another less difficult program though because it was hard to get through all the exercises.

Bring back Carrie! She never appeared in the last weeks. I cried myself to sleep without her reassuring gaze. It would be really neat if you could create some simple explanation of RSA decryption. CBurch rocks, 'nuff said.

This was one of my favorite classes here at PGSS. (I don't think I ever fell asleep!!) The lectures on the internet and cryptography has expanded my horizons with the CS subject area. I hope that CS, no matter what my profession is, is included in my career. Thanks CBurch for making this so great!

You're a really great teacher, and your class was appreciated, especially how you covered such a wide area of computer science.

CBurch was awesome. I really appreciated all the time spent in helping us with our programming.

I think this was an excellent introductory course into programming. You did a good job of starting from square one and working up the ladder in terms of difficulty.

As for what we did, I enjoyed writing the programs the most. They were very challenging but definitely doable. That's why programming is so great - find a difficult problem and work and work and work until you get an answer. It's terribly frustrating getting there, but once you're done, there's a great feeling of accomplishment.

The professor, of course, is loved by all. cburch, your love of programming, love of kids, love of stick figures, love of life - it's an inspiration. Thank you not only for being a great teacher, but also an amazing person. It's been a pleasure.

ARF!

Thank you, CBurch. I wanted to learn the basics of C++, so I can go home and continue learning it. The assignments were excellent - they were challenging and a lot of fun to do! So, the goals has been achieved - I know C++ a bit, and will keep learning. The stick figures, especially Spot, made the lectures a lot of fun.

The gingerbread cookies -> AWESOME!!!

Very enjoyable class overall. The programs were very interesting. I thoroughly appreciated your effort.

I really liked the course. However, for self-study, I thought that there should be more programs, but slightly simpler ones so that there would be more variety. I got bored with working on the same program every day. Also, maybe there could be some choice involved so you could choose the program you like better to work on.

I like the stick figures.

I thought the teaching methods were excellent and it was great how much you and the T.A.s wanted us to learn the material.

i liked the stick figures, of course.

my only suggestion would be to try to be a little more patient. sometimes it seemed like you were not receptive to questions that you may have found stupid. it might make people a little more reluctant to ask for help.

overall, the course was good, though! it was impressive how much you taught us in 4 weeks!

Overall, I think your class was great. I liked your lectures because the overheads were great. Keep the characters and good luck in the future Cburch!

While I would have enjoyed more theory, the amount we had in class was difficult to understand. More review?

Also.... I am terribly disappointed in the seemingly blatant disregard for Carrie near the end of the course. Bring her back! [drawing of Carrie] I have rage!

P.S. Thank you CBurch!

I don't know if this course extended my programming abilities, but I am comfortable with the way C++ works.

One suggestions would be to be more available to help people... wander around the cluster, someone is bound to be sitting there completely confused.

Use more stick figures. They help me stay awake. I'm an Eve fan myself.

It was wonderful to see your dedication to the program - to see you in the cluster so often and at Schlag. That type of dedication and unity in the program really makes a big difference.

[drawing of Spot] Arf! Spot says: I agree! Thank you! (the stick figures and pictures were among the best I've ever seen!)