Hi all…
While it was not a SWC course, this summer Casey Dunn and I taught a 12-day
Practical Computing summer class at Friday Harbor Labs. It was a great group of
students — mostly somewhat beginner level — and we covered regular expressions,
shell, python, R + ggplot, git, graphics, and bit of electronics. The
centerpiece (which the students REALLY got into) was a personal project that
was applicable to their own interests and which they solved with some
combination of the tools we covered. Many of the students went from zero
experience to having a script that actually gave them insight into the
real-life research back home.
That part that might be relevant to SWC is that we just sent out a
two-month-later follow-up survey to figure out what stuck and what didn’t. I
collated the responses, and thought I would share them:
http://practicalcomputing.org/fhl-feedback-2015
(Disclaimer: This is far from a formal evaluation and assessment system!)
I found the results really gratifying. Given two weeks of their full attention
makes a big difference in how effectively you can introduce and reinforce the
lessons, and overcome mental blocks (dictionaries, for some!). There was also a
lot of peer-teaching going on after the ~7 hours of planned lectures and
exercises. Students would work into the night on their projects and teach/learn
from their classmates.
-Steve
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Steven Haddock, PhD : [email protected]
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
7700 Sandholdt Rd., Moss Landing, CA 95039-9644
831-775-1793 (office) 831-775-2095 (lab) 831-775-1620 (fax)
* Practical Computing textbook: http://practicalcomputing.org
* Scientific publications: http://www.mbari.org/~haddock/lit.html
* Report marine sightings: http://jellywatch.org
* Bioluminescence Web Page: http://biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu
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