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Hi - I’m Chris

Overview

2008(?) - I took AP Computer Science A

• I just took it for the AP credit
• I had no programming experience before this
• I loved it!

2009 : Started my CS Major at UVA

• I loved UVA

2010 : First internship - Java

2012 : Second internship - Databases at NASA

2013 : Graduated UVA, started my first job

2013 : My actual first job

2021 : Masters Degree - Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech

2022 : Started teaching at Wakefield

2025 : Today

CS Courses in APS

Things I believe

• Computer programming is super fun!
• The world needs more computer programmers
  • You don’t have to become a computer programmer - Everyone would benefit from understanding computer programming
• EVERYONE can be good at computer programming
  • You don’t need to be great at math, science, or any other subject to be a great computer programmer
• EVERYONE can succeed in this class
  • And if you succeed in this class, you will become a good computer programmer
• If you don’t understand something in this class, it’s probably my fault, not yours

Our Goal: Be a great software team

• Google’s “Project Aristotle”
• One goal - answer the question “What makes a perfect team”
• Spent two years, interviewed 37,000 employees
• What do you think they learned?

Psychological Safety

My Goals

1. Safety
2. Teach Computer Programming
3. Teach Workplace Skills
4. Have Fun!
5. Assign Grades and Assess Competencies

Workplace Readiness

A requirement of this course

We’ll talk about jobs, learn how to make resumes, etc

Practice professional communication (I’m not your “bruh”)

Put your phones away

• Computers and headphones too
• During instruction, I have no patience for this
• All work is group work, so no headphones/music
• But I’ll play music, and suggestions are welcome!

Dual Enrollment

• You are taking two classes at the same time
• You get academic credit from BOTH APS and NOVA for this class
• At the same time, you have to satisfy expectations for both
• This is a big commitment! Today you’ll sign a “Dual Enrollment Contract”

A few specific things to know

• No Retakes
• No Late Work
• Grades: Semester ONLY
  • Q1/Q3 APS Report Cards: Think of them like progress reports
• Drop/Withdrawal Rules
• Different accommodation rules

“Flipped” Classroom

• You should learn the material on your own
• Class time is not for lecturing, it’s for practicing
• Reading assignments every day, reading quizzes at the beginning of every class

Let me know if you need help!

• I try to talk one-on-one with every student every day
• You get support from APS and NOVA

Pause - Read the DE Expectations Contract

Find it on the course homepage

First - what does a grade mean?

“An inadequate report of an inaccurate judgment by a biased and variable judge of the extent to which a student has attained an undefined level of mastery of an unknown proportion of an indefinite material”

• Paul Dressel (1983)

Formative vs Summative

• Formative: assessment for learning
  • eg. most classwork, warmups, exit tickets
• Summative: assessment of learning
  • eg. tests, projects

Pop quiz - formative or summative?

• This pop quiz
• A warmup quiz
• A daily classwork coding assignment
• An end-of-unit multiple choice test
• A 2-week project

Your grade is almost entirely Summative!

• 20%: We’ll have formative quizzes most days, and coding practice in class
• 60%: Most of your grade will come from tests, projects
• 20%: final exam
• I will make this clear throughout the year
• Final APS Grade for the year: 50% Semester 1, 50% Semester 2

Points system

• I’ll weight different assignments differently
• I’ll explain more about this as the year goes on

Tons of resources

• I don’t like to reinvent things, so we’ll use a lot of these resources
• But I also don’t have a single website I love, so we’ll bounce around a lot

Generative AI - Rule in my class

• I think it’s a great thing, and an important skill for you to learn
• We’ll have a lot of fun with these tools this year
• Unless I say so, do not use it on any assignments
• Discussion: If you do use generative AI tools - will I know?

Generative AI - Accountability

• You must understand all of the code you submit
• A big part of your grade will include:
  • evidence you produce as you’re writing your code (git log - we’ll talk more about this later in the week)
  • in class writing where you’ll explain how your code works

Here’s some food for thought

Today’s Assignment:

• Access the course website: ict.gracehopper.center
• Find and complete today’s assignment