Syllabus Addendum

Instructor

Course details

  • Monday & Wednesday
  • January 27–May 8, 2020
  • TBD
  • Zoom

Contacting me

Slack, E-mail, and text are the best way to get in contact with me, in that order (call in emergencies). I will try to respond to all course-related messages within 24 hours during the week and 48 hours on the weekend (really). We all have full lives to balance with our work in this class - I am no exception - and our goal should be attentive and timely, but not immediate, exchanges.

Previous Syllabus & This Addendum

The original syllabus for the course is archived in the Resources section. While many of the general components of that syllabus still hold, enough has changed that it made sense to create a new document and state clearly what is going on between the end of March and the beginning of May.

This addendum is like syllabus 2.0 - it clarifies what activities we’re doing and how those activities count toward your course grade. There are many thing we were doing before break and this move to remote learning that no longer make sense. If you don’t see it listed here, we’re not doing it anymore. If you have questions, of course, please ask.

General Operating Principles

The following principles are adapted from Prof. Brandon Bayne at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, shared via twitter. They summarize much of the foundation of what it means to do this class, this way, at this point in time.

Nobody signed up for this

  • Not for the sickness, not for the social distancing, not for the sudden end of our collective lives together on campus
  • Not for the anti-Asian bigotry and racism, nor for the economic hardships many people and families now face
  • Not for the anxiety, isolation, and uncertainty
  • Not for an online class, not for teaching / tutoring or learning remotely
  • Not for working/learning from home, not for the lack of schedule, not for mastering new technologies, not for varied access to learning materials

The humane option is the best option.

We are going to prioritize:

  • supporting each other as humans
  • simple solutions that make sense for the most
  • sharing resources and communicating clearly

Let’s assume good intentions, give the benefit of the doubt, and cut ourselves and each other some slack.

We are all in this together…

We cannot just do the same thing online that we did when we were together.

  • Some assignments are no longer possible
  • Some expectations are no longer reasonable
  • Some objectives are no longer valuable

We will prioritize flexible activities that will be accessible to all

  • We will have accessible materials for wide accessibility, across time zones, and in myriad contexts so that you can do this work whenever works for you
  • We will have real-time sessions - lectures, office hours, discussion - as a way to learn together and combat isolation. These are optional, in that you can complete the course without them, but strongly encouraged in that they foster a sense of community and are a better way to learn the course objectives.
  • Some of you may be bored or want to throw yourself into work to keep yourself busy; some of you are overwhelmed and can’t imagine how to do this. Both can be true within the same week, day or hour. We will have a reasonable, minimum set of requirements, and plenty of opportunities for additional work if you want to do that.

We will remain flexible and adjust to the situation.

  • A lot can and will change in the 6 weeks (one or more of us could get sick, need to care for others, etc.), and we will most likely need to adjust things again
  • Some parts of the course that seemed like a good idea in theory may not work in practice
  • Everybody needs support and understanding in this unprecedented moment

Summary of What Has(n’t) Changed

What stays? We are still:

  • Using the STAT2 textbook for readings and problems
  • Having weekly problem sets to practice implementing new content in R
  • Using Slack for course communications, questions on course material (and problem sets)
  • Using this course site as the main place course information will be posted.
  • Using Moodle for hosting information that shouldn’t be on the open-web, for submitting assignments, quizzes.

What goes? We are no longer:

  • Doing the group project as a required part of the course (now optional)
  • Having Take Home Exam 2 just on multiple linear regression
  • Requiring Moodle quizes (now optional)

What’s new? We are starting to:

  • Use Zoom for “lecture” and for student hours
  • Dedicated question time on Slack
  • Engage with Spinelli Center tutoring (i.e., STAT TAs) remotely

Course Objectives (for the second half of Spring 2020)

Our course objectives are for you to:

  • Apply your understanding of multiple linear regression modeling with additional practice based on real-world data
  • Extend your understanding of linear modeling to categorical / binary response variables
  • Define odds, probability, and the relationship between the two
  • Compare ordinary least squares and maximum likelihood estimation approaches to fitting regression models
  • Calculate and interpret odds ratios from multiple logistic regression models

tl;dr - The goal is to learn multiple logistic regression.

Activities: How will we spend our time toward meeting those objectives?

We will start off by keeping things more or less as they were. See your results of the survey from before break that made me think this was a reasonable approach. There will be real-time (synchronous) and non-real-time (asynchronous) activities, and you should feel free to choose whichever of these works for you at that point.

Activity Synchronous Option Asynchronous Options
“Class” Zoom Sessions (M/W 1:20-2:35*) Watch Recordings of Zoom Sessions, Posted to Moodle; Review Slides & .Rmd code; Do class activities, compare to solutions; engage on slack.
Student Hours Zoom Sessions (Tu/Th 8AM, 4PM) Watch Recordings of Zoom Sessions, Slack for questions
Stat TAs Appointment system & Slack Class Slack
Quizzes N/A Posted Wednesday, “Due” Monday
Homework practice in R N/A Posted Wednesday, “Due” Monday

“Class”

We will have Zoom Sessions that will be similar to the in-class sessions we have been having. We will go over slides, do practice problems, and engage in discussion and question/answers about the readings and new course material.

All materials will be online after the real-time “class” session via Zoom, including recordings of the Zoom meeting that will be posted to Moodle within 24 hours of the class (hopefully sooner, but it has been taking a while to get those recordings processed). Given that many of you will not be able to participate in real-time sessions on Eastern time, I would encourage you to consider the following steps:

  • review the slides and the raw R code files (the rmd) to review the concepts,
  • do any in-class activities (and try not to peak at the answer set before you’re done!),
  • ask questions on Slack or in a Student Hour Zoom session that corresponds more with your home time zone,
  • and/or watch the video of the Zoom session if you have the internet bandwidth.

Assignments: How will you demonstrate you’ve met those objectives?

Homework

What’s the same

Homework will be as it has been this semester:

  • Due via moodle on Monday, 11:55 AM Eastern time.
  • Submitted as knitted .pdf and .rmd code.
  • Graded with the check, check-minus system.

What’s different / new

  • There will be 4 homework assignments
  • Everyone has one additional, free 48 hour extension for homework during this second have of the semester that you may take whenever you need it. If you used one during the first part of the semester, you get another. If you didn’t use your extension before, you have a second one. Please just let me know when you plan to take it/them.

Take Home, Individual Exams

What’s the same

  • The take home exam will be similar to the simple linear regression exam and (in scope) to the multiple linear regression IPUMS project we did in class before break: you’ll have one topic and dataset to focus on, and will be expected to show what you’ve learned on a number of different topics we’ve covered throughout this part of the semester.
  • Exam extensions are only granted if your Class Dean is involved at least 24 hours before of the assignment deadline and suggests that flexibility with deadlines would be useful; exceptions to this rule for emergencies (i.e., hospitalizations) will be considered on a case by case basis.
  • We’ll have a review session and then you’ll have a week to work on it.

What’s different / new

  • There is no second take home exam on multiple linear regression.
  • Essentially, this is the planned third take home exam and will focus on logistic regression.
  • It will be during the last week of class / due by the end of the original Finals period (Friday, May 8).

Quizzes

What’s the same

  • There will be brief (\(\leq\) 20 minutes) quizes on Moodle due every week on Monday before 11:55AM (to be precise).
  • You will be able to repeat the quiz as many times as needed before Monday at 11:55AM. So, effectively, the grade is for completion of the quiz, since you can retake it.

What’s different

  • These are no longer required, they’re only optional.

Grading Policy

Since we have shifted so dramatically what we can do and the grading system (S/U), the following only applies to the assignments due during this second half of the course.

  • 60% for homework assignments (15% each)

  • 20% for take home exam on logistic regression

  • 20% of your grade will be determined by your engagement in the course: attending class or student hours via Zoom, asking and answering questions via Slack. (see course policies below)

Resources

Student Hours

I will be available at multiple set times during the week (specific times TBD) to answer questions and discuss material via Zoom and Slack. I will also available by email and phone/text to have a one-on-one discussion as needed.

Stat TAs

There will be Stat TAs available - mostly the same TAs from earlier in the semester, so they should be familiar to you - both at scheduled and non-scheduled times.

How to connect with a Stat TA? Either

  • make an appointment with someone whose bio says they would be a good fit for our class, or
  • ask questions on Slack (specifically for HW questions) in the #HW6 (or #HW7, etc., for the given HW assignment) channel, which each TA has access to and will jump in as they can to answer questions and/or invite you to a Zoom room / Google Hangout if it’s easier to talk about and they have availability. The tutors will organize “drop-in” hours to be at different times than their appointment-based office hours to maximize coverage.

This is a brand new system (obviously…) and will have some bumps. Please keep me posted as you have challenges and I’ll try to help solve those as much as possible.

Course Policies

Attendance and Engagement

Attendance and engagement will be demonstrated by any of the following per class session:

  • attending Zoom class time and commenting on one thought or question you had via Slack (or in real time in Zoom or Zoom chat)
  • watching Zoom class time video and commenting on one thought or question you had via Slack
  • attending Zoom student hours
  • asking or answering 2 questions on Slack on the class material within a week of the class

This expectation should not be taken too literally. Attendance and engagement in the class is meant to give you an opportunity to get “credit” for staying engaged with your classmates and learning together. It isn’t something to penalize. As it did during in-person instruction, the honor code plays in: I trust you to choose to engage in the ways that make sense for you. And again, people are going to need to attend and engage very differently - and differently sometimes from day to day. So I’m asking you to use as many ways to stay engaged with your peers while you learn this material, and to be helpful to your peers by answering their questions when you can.

Privacy

To keep this a safe learning environment for everyone, please do not share screenshots, class sessions, lecture slides, online discussions and other course-related content & media with anyone outside this class. There will be challenges for all of us and it is extremely important for everyone to feel comfortable while learning. Fear of being recorded can be a big obstacle to that. Moreover, sharing materials like Zoom recordings will unintentially and automatically disclose your classmates by name, which is an invasion of their privacy. To the principle of “no one signed up for this”, your steps to engage with the class in ways that build community and protect each other is really critical - maybe now more than ever.

Academic Honor Code

The Smith College honor code articulates general expectations for students’ conduct throughout the course and applies to our course in this new iteration, including academic honesty and issues of privacy in particular.

Course Accomodations

If you have documented accomodations with Office of Disability Services, let’s check in to make sure that your accomodations are still met in this new iteration of class activities and in your new learning environment.

Health and Well-Being

Your well-being matters to me personally and as a course instructor vis-a-vis your success in this course. I encourage you to use your formal support resources (including your Class Dean, advisor, and Health Services) early and often. If you have social, health, emotional or financial challenges that significantly affect your performance in the course, please feel free to email me and set up a time to talk.