Class and Office Hours
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Our modes of instruction are through lectures, recitations, and office hours. These are available only in person; there will be no recordings or Zoom option. Experience has shown that students and staff have more meaningful experiences in person.
1) Lectures
Classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays 3:00–4:30 pm in 34-101. Class material will be presented through a mix of discussion, code, slides, and chalkboard, so be prepared to take notes! You may use whatever form you prefer (e.g., paper and pencil, tablet, text editor, etc.).
The day prior to each lecture (with the exception of the first one), we will post pre-lecture code on the course calendar for you to review in advance. You are not expected to fully understand it yet, but you should try running it and think about how it works. We will begin each class with your thoughts on the code, and then develop it into further concepts and examples.
Right before class starts, we will also post in-class code for you to follow during lecture. Often, what we post will be incomplete, and we will fill it in through discussion. Thus, we expect you to bring your laptop to class and to follow our policy on screens.
To keep our focus on the code during class, we will post slides only after class ends. We will not post the "completed" code, though, and if you miss a class, you should find a classmate to catch you up on the discussion and code.
Additionally, we will release finger exercises after most classes. Although we have a generous deadline for completing them, learning is more effective when you reinforce what you just learned. Thus, we highly encourage you to work on these exercises soon after class.
For most lectures, the course calendar lists associated sections in the textbook below. These readings can be an excellent resource for additional perspective or examples. The book is available both as a hard copy and as an e-book from MIT Libraries, with code and errata online.
Guttag, John. Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python, Third Edition, With Application to Computational Modeling and Understanding Data, MIT Press, 2021.
2) Recitations
Recitations are held on Fridays at the following times and locations:
- 10 am in 56-114
- 11 am in 56-114
- 1 pm in 56-114
- 2 pm in 56-114
These sessions are led by TAs, who will review and extend the week's lectures. Recitation attendance is expected, and you will be responsible for the material covered.
The registrar will assign you to a section.
However, if attending a different section would work better for your schedule, you are welcome to request a section switch by emailing 6.100-staff@mit.edu.
To keep sections balanced, though, we may not be able to accommodate all switch requests.
Like with lectures, incomplete code will be posted on the calendar right before the first recitation. However, there is no pre-recitation code to review in advance.
3) Office hours
Our TAs and LAs staff office hours throughout the week to help with course material and problem sets. You must also attend office hours to complete pset checkoffs.
When you arrive at the room, add yourself to the Help Queue in our website's menu bar. You must be logged in via your MIT Kerberos account to access the queue. If you are having trouble, speak with the TA-in-charge in the room.
Additionally, Andrew will offer instructor office hours in 38-648 on Thursdays, 2:30–3:30 pm.
If you would like to meet with an instructor but cannot make this time, you are welcome to schedule an appointment by emailing 6.100-staff@mit.edu.