Difference: ProgressReport1 (4 vs. 5)

Response to some questions about the progress report

>> Although we are changing the topics of the course, the course level
>> learning outcomes and the majority of the topic level learning
>> outcomes are the same.

> I think this needs some clarification. On the one hand we're saying
> that we are changing the topics of the course and on the other we're
> saying that the topic level learning outcomes are the same. Can you
> clarify this a bit? Assuming that the topic-level learning outcomes
> remain the same, would it be true to say that you intend to
> illustrate those topics in a different way?

Yes that is correct. For example one of the important topics revolves around taking a stream of data, chopping it into packets and sending it. Then, upon receipt, reconstructing that stream. In such a scenario packets could be lost and/or arrive out of order. In the "old" course this is all discussed in the context of how TCP is implemented and what it does to reconstruct the stream. Given the nature of TCP and its implementation within the kernel, students never really get to experience or work with the programming problems directly. (We do try to give them a fake TCP stack to work with at the application level, but the gap between the fake stack and and actual TCP implementation is challenging for many students to bridge.) In the new version, the plan is to illustrate this topic with application level multi-media protocols. Now they will be working in a problem space they are familiar with using (i.e. streaming video and audio) and at a programming level that matches where the issues are encountered (the application level). The problems are still the same. A stream of data still has to be chopped into packets and on the receiving end decisions have to be made about what to do if packets of data are lost or arrive out of order.

> I'm also wondering if you could tell me what baseline data you've
> collected. I believe that you've already gathered attitudinal data
> from surveys. Do you plan to re-run the survey after revising the
> course? Have you also collected per-question exam data? Is it
> feasible that we could re-use some exam questions after the course
> has been revised in an effort to measure changes in student learning?

Yes, we collected attitudinal data from both my teaching of the course and Norm's. We hope to convince Bill to do the same thing. The plan is to give the save survey when we offer the revised course. In addition we will probably do an attitudinal survey at the start of the course. We wanted to do one this term but didn't. In addition I have held discussions with Allison about looking at old exams, for which we have the student's answers, to see if there are questions that, possibly in a modified form, could be used to compare changes in student understanding. The intention is to identify and re-ask a number of such questions to get some indication of how a student's understanding of the material compares between the two course offerings.