Sections

Starting in Week 1, you’ll meet in a weekly 50-minute small group discussion. The discussion will be facilitated by your section leader (SL), who will also serve as your mentor and grader. Each week, we will publish a set of section problems that follow onto the topics covered in lecture, and students will work collaboratively on these problems in section to deepen their understanding of the course material.

Common questions about section are included below.

How do I sign up for section?

Section signups are handled on the CS198 section portal (do not sign-up for sections on Axess). The section portal will open signups on Sunday, June 22 at 5:00 pm and close on Tuesday, June 24 at 5:00 pm. Section sign-ups are not first-come first-serve, rather all students rank their preferences and after submissions close, we arrange a workable schedule for everyone. Your assigned section will then be emailed to you. You will be required to attend the section you signed up for except for rare circumstances.

Where can I find my assigned section?

You can find your section time and meeting location on Paperless.

How do I prepare for section?

The most important preparation for section is that you are up to date on lecture viewing. You don't need to have understood everything in lecture perfectly, but your section leader won't be able to effectively guide students through the problems unless everyone is at least caught up on viewing all of the lectures preceding the section.

Where can I find the section problems?

The section problems will be posted on the course website under the "Sections" tab at the beginning of each week. After all sections for the week have met, the section page is updated with the solutions for later review.

Is section participation mandatory? How is it graded?

Active participation in section is expected for all students. Choose a participation style that is comfortable for you, including asking questions, contributing answers, and participating in pair discussions with fellow students.

Section participation is credited on this scale:

  • 2 : Attended for full section period, came prepared, followed section norms, actively participated in an engaged manner
  • 1 : Arrived late/left early or had limited participation, was not fully prepared
  • 0 : Did not attend, or disregarded section norms, was not engaged

Section participation contributes 5% to your final course grade.

What should I do if I must miss a section meeting?

  • Missing Section: In the rare case that you can't attend section one week (e.g., due to illness), please e-mail the Head TA with the reason for your absence in order to request to have it excused.

  • Attending an Alternate Section: You are required to attend the section you signed up for. In the rare case that you can't attend your assigned section one week (e.g., because of a one-time conflict), please e-mail your Section Leader with the reason for your absence in order to be granted permission to attend an alternate section that week.

Requests to miss section or attend an alternate section should be sent at least 24 hours in advance unless emergency circumstances arise that make that impossible.

How do I become a section leader myself someday?

You can apply during/after completing CS106B. Come join us! Information about applying can be found on the CS198 Website.