syllabus

about

• course: SICP (CS4140.01) - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
• faculty: Jim Mahoney (jimmahoney@bennington.edu)
• semester: Fall 2021 (Aug 31 - Dec 10)
• time: Monday & Thursday 3:40pm - 5:30pm
• place: Dickinson 235 (CATLab)
• credits : 4
• repeatable : no

See the help page for tutoring and office hours.

content

A classic computer science textbook, SICP (Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, also known as "the wizard book") is a deep examination of some of the core ideas of programming and computer science, including an introduction to functional programming, mutable state,and looking at a compiler from first principles. This course will work through its concepts and exercises using scheme, one of the lisp programming languages.

No prior experience with scheme or lisp is assumed, but at least one previous programming course and familiarity with math through at least pre-calculus is required, since many of the exercises are base on math concepts such as prime numbers, polar coordinates, and fixed points of functions.

Students will require a MacOS, Windows, or Linux computer.

learning outcomes

In this course you will

• learn to program in scheme, one of the lisp languages
• study fundamentals of languages such as variable scope, mutability, and data structures
• gain a deep understanding of program language design
• practice the functional style of programming
• examine essential concepts of compilers, computer programs that write programs

work

• As a 4 credit course, you should expect to spend roughly 12 hours per week on this course, 4 hours in class and 8 hours working outside class.
• Expect weekly assignments, mostly drawn from the exercises in the SICP textbook but from other online sources as well.
• A midterm and/or final project is a possibility - we'll decide about that once the term is in session and we see how things are going.

expectations and academic integrity

• First and foremost, you are expected to act as adults in this class, behaving responsibly and fostering a safe and welcoming environment for everyone.
• You will participate in all required activities. More than two absences (excused or unexcused) will jeopardize your standing in the course.
• You will be an active participant and collaborator in group sessions.
• You will submit all assigned work by their due dates. Late work is usually accepted for reduced credit; however, if too much of the work is late or it is extremely late, it may not be accepted.
• You will seek out help promptly if you are struggling or falling behind.
• Work submitted will be your own, with appropriate references to sources and resources used. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, and will be passed along to the appropriate administrative or judicial entity.

A note on attribution, code, and the culture of programming...

The "culture" surrounding programming is one that encourages sharing and collaboration. Open-source software, online communities such as StackOverflow, GitHub/Gist, and the fast-paced nature of the technology world have all led to a vast collection of places where programmers can quickly and easily get help in solving common and not-so-common problems. This is a fantastic and vital part of being a 'programmer', and I encourage you to use and contribute to these communities.

This being said, there are a few important guidelines that MUST be followed in order to strike a balance between collaboration and academic integrity:

• You must provide attribution for ALL ideas you have consumed from sources outside of your own scope of knowledge. This may be done in a variety of ways, but must be noted explicitly - either via code comments, a note at the time of submission, or via some other mechanism that clearly indicates:
  • What part of your work, specifically, has been influenced by an outside source, and how.
  • What the outside source was - whether another student, a web site, other code, etc.
• Outside contributions to your work must not comprise a substantial portion of the solution to the problem or module you are working on. Your work must be your own and your Google or interpersonal skills, no matter how sophisticated, do not equate to mastery of course material!
• If you provide assistance to others (in individual projects), or other groups (in group work), you must share this information with the instructor. Helping your fellow students learn is an essential and valuable part of the learning experience. However, providing "too much" help by providing answers or clues that substantially undermine the challenge and learning objectives of an assignment is not helpful and, in fact, a violation of academic integrity. Therefore:
  • If you assist another student in class, notify the instructor via email or some other mechanism, indicating who was helped, when, and what the nature of the help was.
  • It is also expected (per the 'attribution' paragraph above), that the student who was assisted will also indicate that they were assisted.
  • Those helping or being helped should feel secure in the knowledge that the exchange of assistance will not negatively or positively impact their grade on the assignment or work in question.

Here's an example of quoting your sources : a lot of that preceding language is from Andrew Cencini's Fall 2019"Intro to Computer Science" course.

grading

Grades will be based on

• the amount of work that your assignments demonstrate,
• the quality of that work,
• code clarity and supporting materials (docs, tests, context, sources)
• class participation

ethics

Academic and artistic dishonesty are contrary to the educational philosophy and aims of Bennington College and are absolutely prohibited. At Bennington, instances of plagiarism and dishonesty affect all students and all faculty, since cheating compromises the spirit of self-governance and the community’s commitment to work. The College will not tolerate the disregard of our common academic endeavors by those who fail to take intellectual and ethical responsibility for their work. Academic and artistic dishonesty is not merely an issue for a specific student, class, or faculty member; it is a College-wide issue with institutional consequences.

Plagiarism is submitting the work of others as one’s own, whether intentionally or not, and includes failure to acknowledge sources. Proper acknowledgment of sources is the basis of academic honesty. Such sources include words, ideas, data, and images from books, articles, Internet sites,and so on. Sources of images must be noted in the same way that textual material is cited, according to discipline standards. Ample material is available in the library to help students determine how to cite sources properly. Any students with questions about this should consult reference librarians, peer writing tutors, or faculty members for guidance.

Academic dishonesty also includes the submission of the same work for different classes without substantial revision and prior permission from the faculty.

accommodations

Bennington College provides reasonable academic accommodations to students with documented disabilities when such accommodations are requested and necessary to ensure equal access to College programs and facilities. If you believe you are entitled to an accommodation speak with the Academic Services and Accommodations Advisor about any disability-related needs. If approved, you will receive a memo detailing your specific accommodations; it is your responsibility to provide me with the memo and discuss the implementation of accommodations. Note that I will not be aware of your needs if you do not share this memo with me. Accommodations are not retroactive, so the sooner we meet to discuss your needs, the better. Also, students experiencing mental and/or physical health challenges that are significantly impacting their academic work are encouraged to speak with their faculty advisor and member of Academic Services about the impact and to connect with resources through health and psychological services.

inclusivity

Bennington College is committed to fostering the intellectual growth of all students, and to creating a learning environment where human cultural diversity is valued and respected. To that end, in this course all students can expect a respectful, welcoming and inclusive environment. I hope that all students in this course will openly share their unique perspectives and, just as importantly, respect the perspectives, comments, and contributions made by every other student and guest that participates in this course during the term. If you feel that at any time that this goal is not being met, please don’t hesitate to see me, or speak with a college administrator from The Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Student Life, or Academic Services to share your concern.

basic needs

At Bennington College we understand that basic needs (food, housing, and wellness) have a direct impact on academic performance, mental-emotional-physical health, professional development and holistic success of our students. If you have a personal circumstance or need that will affect your learning or performance in this course, please let me or your faculty advisor know so that we can direct you to available resources to help support you during the term.