CS 2104 Classroom Etiquette

Classroom Etiquette

This is intended to be a discussion course. Students are encouraged to try to present solutions that they may not be so sure of, just as other students are encouraged to find the problems with those solutions. With that said, it is import that we all be respectful of each other in class. The following rules must be obeyed at all times.

• There is to be no ridiculing of other students.

This is the most important rule in this class. Laughing at another student's presentation or calling another student by a derogatory name will not be tolerated. Additionally, if a student comes up with a correct solution to a problem you are not to deride the effort of that student as easy or trivial; I reserve the right to determine matters of difficulty. I am very serious about this issue. The first offense will result in a warning, while subsequent offenses will result in a penalty to your final grade.

• Any critiques during a presentation are to be directed to the presenter.

The presenter is the professor for all intents and purposes while presenting. Any question that you have is to be directed to the student presenting. There are to be no questions directed to me, the instructor, unless I specifically have the floor. If I feel that a point needs to be made, then I will ask my own questions to the presenter in order to make them clear.

• Any critiques during a presentation are to be phrased as an inquiry, not accusation.

You are not to tell a student that a presentation is incorrect while the student is presenting it. You must wait until after the presentation is over to voice the counterclaim as your own presentation (which may then be critiqued). If you feel that it is important to raise a critique during a presentation, then you must raise it as a question. Comments such as "Could you please elaborate step number 5?" and "How does your solution work with the following test case?" are acceptable while "This is the problem with step 5." is not.

• The presenter is to respond politely to all questions.

The presenter is the professor for all intents and purposes while presenting. That means that the presenter must respond to any question asked by a student no matter how "obvious" the answer to that question may be. In a few instances, as the instructor, I may determine that a line of questioning is holding up the class and needs to be taken offline. However, only I have the right to determine when this is the case, and the presenter must answer any question that I do not interfere with. At any time, if the presenter does not feel capable or comfortable with answering the questions then he or she may retract the solution and sit down with no shame or repercussions (see the first rule).