This document explains how to succeed in CS 101. Please read this carefully, and refer back to it as you proceed in the course!

Why we wrote this

Introductory programming courses (such as this course, CS 101) typically have a high failure rate. Many students find that learning to program is difficult, and that study techniques that work in other courses are not effective in a programming course.

But don’t panic! You can and will succeed if you approach this course the right way. This document explains how.

This document has two parts: philosophy and practice.

Part 1: Philosophy

This section explains what you should be thinking about as you take this course. Your mindset (see below) is incredibly important to your success.

Have a growth mindset

A common misconception about computer programming is that there is some innate factor—the “geek gene”—that allows only some people to be good at it. Don’t believe this! As with all skills, proficiency at computer programming is the result of sustained and deliberate practice.

Using the terminology of psychologist Carol Dweck, the “geek gene” misconception is an example of the “fixed” mindset. Success stems from adopting the “growth” mindset, which is a belief that your pontential is not predetermined, and that through hard work, critical self-awareness, and discipline, anyone can become more successful. Dweck’s work has shown definitively that adopting a growth mindset leads to better outcomes.

One important aspect of adopting a growth mindset is always being aware of opportunities for improvement. There is always more to learn.

Expect to be confused

Programming is challenging. As the material in this course becomes more sophisticated, and the programs you write become more complex, there will undoubtedly be times when you are frustrated.

This is normal. Confusion is a sign that you are learning. What is important is how you react to the confusion.

Be methodical and persistent

Let’s say that you are writing a program, and it doesn’t work the way you expect. What should you do?

Don’t get discouraged. As we noted above, confusion is normal.

Experiment. Think about why your program doesn’t work. Don’t resort to undirected trial and error: form a theory about why the program doesn’t work and test it.

Take a break. If you are really stuck, take a break and do something else for a while. You will often find that when you come back, you will be able to look at the problem in a new way.

Keep at it. Don’t give up until you have succeeded.

Be playful

Programming proficiency involves inventing and implementing algorithms to solve arbitrary problems. In this course, you will writing programs to solve a wide variety of problems. Creativity, inventiveness, playfulness—these are the techniques that will enable you to find solutions to the problems you will be given. There is no “right” solution to any problem. The more you are able to use your imagination to come up with potential solutions to a problem, the better your chances of finding a workable approach will be.

Focus on learning

What does it mean to be a successful student? A common misconception is that a successful student is one who earns high grades. This is a very dangerous belief!

In education, success is learning. If, as a result of working through the material in this course, you become a proficient programmer, then you have succeeded, regardless of what your grade is.

One reason it’s important to stay focused on learning is that thinking about grades may tempt you to take shortcuts. For example, the syllabus allows collaboration on the programming assignments. You could “complete” a programming assignment by copying someone else’s work, without learning from the experience of doing the assignment. This is not a good strategy, and it is likely to get you into trouble.

Please note that we’re not saying that grades aren’t important. Grades are a rough indication of achievement. However, we want you understand that if you learn effectively, good grades will follow, and that your odds of getting a good grade without learning are negligible.

Be careful about how you ask for help

You will have many opportunities to ask for help: in class, in office hours, in tutoring sessions, from your classmates outside of class, etc.

However, it is critical that you ask good questions. A good question is one that is specific, and which contributes to your understanding. Questions like “How can I get my program to work?” aren’t good questions, because they transfer the responsibility for learning and understanding away to someone else. A better type of question is something like “Why is my program printing the value 4 at this line of code, when I expect it to print 5?” That type of question can lead to a productive conversation about your understanding of the program.

Always keep in mind that you are accountable for learning and understanding all of the course material, so make sure your questions help you achieve greater learning and understanding.

Don’t expect this to be like your other courses

In your career as a student, you may have taken courses where you were able to satisify the course requirements by memorizing facts and then reiterating them on exams and assignments.

Memorization is not a useful strategy for this course. Programming consists of analyzing a problem, inventing an algorithm to solve the problem, and then writing a program to implement the algorithm. The process is both analytical and creative. You will need to know some facts, such as language syntax, but you should know these facts as a result of hard-earned experience, not memorization.

Programming and computer science are for everyone

You may notice that the student population in this course is skewed in terms of gender, races and ethnicities, sexual identity, etc.

You should understand that you do not represent a “group”: you are just you. You should also be aware that your fellow students also represent only themselves, and it should go without saying that everyone is entitled to respect. Finally, however you identify yourself, your opportunity to succeed is exactly the same as anyone else’s. Ability to learn and succeed is not in any way related to gender, race, etc.

Part 2: Practice

This section describes some practices you should adopt in order to be successful in the course.

Attend class. We will use our class time for peer instruction as well as hands-on lab activities. Class time is also a great time to ask questions (good questions, of course.)

Prepare for class. Do the reading and the CloudCoder exercises before you come to class.

Start the lab before class. You should start the day’s lab (and ideally, finish it) before you come to class. This will help you learn the day’s topics (which is helpful for the peer instruction clicker quiz), and will allow you to ask good questions about the lab if you need help completing it. In general, we don’t guarantee that there will be enough time to finish a lab in class unless you start it beforehand.

Practice. The way you will become a proficient programmer is through sustained and deliberate practice. We provide you opportunities to practice in the form of CloudCoder exercises, labs, and assignments. The schedule also has recommended exercises from the textbook. Take advantage of every opportunity to practice that you can find!

Work individually. Although you are allowed to collaborate on labs and assignments, you will learn more if you work mostly on your own. Occasionally getting some help is OK, but ultimately it is your responsibility to learn the material, and you should never deny yourself opportunities to learn and discover on your own.

START ASSIGNMENTS EARLY. The best way to complete a programming assignment is to start them early, and then work incrementally, making steady progress towards completion of the assignment’s requirements. If you waiting until the last minute, you are denying yourself the opportunity to maximize your learning experience.

Put in the time. A minimum expectation for college courses are that you should spend two hours outside of class for every hour in class. For CS 101, it is very possible that you will need more than six hours per week outside of class to keep up.