CS15: Intro to Object Oriented Programming

CS15, taught by Andy van Dam, is one of 3 introductory computer science classes offered by Brown University in the fall semester. It teaches Java and the principles of OOP (Object Oriented Programming) via a series of games, culminating in a final project where one can build Pacman, Othello, a version of Microsoft Paint, or an independent project. CS15 is also the largest introductory computer science class, with a class size of ~350 students my senior year fall (2016). I took this class as a freshman, TA’d it my sophomore and junior year, and Head TA’d it my senior year. In this section, I will focus on my contributions and responsibilities as a Head TA.

Additional Head TA Responsibilities

Outside of the goals and changes outlined above, I also gained key experience in how to run a course. I shared several other responsibilities with my co-Head TAs. We aimed to create a course of high-caliber, with a strong focus on making our class accessible to everyone. Our first task after getting hired was to build an inclusive and approachable TA staff. We interviewed over 70 candidates and carefully constructed a staff of 43 Undergraduate TAs. Throughout the remainder of the spring and the summer, my co-Head TAs and I identified what changes we would like to make to the course and began to implement them. We also were busy over the summer planning 4 days of TA Camp, a mandatory training for all our TAs. We held a series of sessions on course material, unconscious bias and diversity and inclusion initiatives, and how to lead sections, all with the eye of building a family-like atmosphere with our TA staff. We strived to be mentors to our TAs, just as our TAs would be mentors to our students.

Once the semester began, our responsibilities ramped up. I spent roughly 12-14 hours reviewing lecture material for the week, helping my UTA staff revise the lectures accordingly, and helping Andy prepare for lecture on the day of. I would also hold one set of TA Hours and one design discussion, alongside my staff. We also held a weekly staff meeting and one weekly Head TA synchronization meeting for class logistics purposes. As a Head TA, I was also responsible for some work that our UTAs cannot handle. This includes handling collaboration policy violations, extensions on assignments, and student complaints. We were also responsible for key decision-making on assignment and grading specs, and certain aspects of grading (validation, spot-checking, and de-anonymization before sending grades). We also supervised UTAs as they prepared lectures, labs, assignments, supplementary review materials, rubrics, and course infrastructure scripts. This ensured our course outputted materials of a high quality to our students.