Homework check-ins are a new component of CS221 that we are piloting this quarter.

A homework check-in is a 10-minute, 1-on-1 meeting with a CA over Zoom each week, where you will be asked questions about the homework and your solution. Check-ins are designed to assess your understanding of the homework assignment. Check-ins will also serve as a way to receive direct feedback to improve your learning and understanding of the material.

The pilot will be a randomized controlled trial (RCT), where we wish to evaluate whether check-ins are an effective learning tool (and you'll be helping with science!). During the first week of class, a subset of the class will be randomly assigned to do check-ins. For fairness, we will assign grades to each group separately (as if the other group didn't exist). See our information sheet for the study (IRB #83954) for more details.

You must complete your check-in by the Friday of the week the assignment is due (assignments are due on Mondays at 11:59pm). For example: HW 1 is due Monday at 11:59pm, so your HW 1 check-in must happen between Tuesday and Friday of that week.

Sign up for HW Check-ins on Calendly (sign-ups for each HW open the week prior; we will email the check-in group when they open). Please sign up by 9am Tuesday (the morning after the HW is due), even if you plan to use late days (in that case, schedule your check-in for Thursday or Friday).

What to expect: During your HW check-in, a CA will ask you questions about your solutions to a few randomly selected problems from that week's homework (e.g. explain a particular part of your solution, explain a fundamental concept required to solve the problem, answer a slight variant of the problem) to assess your understanding. Questions will cover both the written and programming parts of the HW. If there is time left at the end, you may ask the CA any questions about the homework or course material.

Check-ins are designed so that if you have completed the homework, sufficiently understand your solutions, and are able to explain them, you should be able to receive full credit.

Grading: If you are assigned to participate in HW check-ins, they will account for 10% of your HW grade for that particular homework. Check-ins are scored on a 0 (incomplete/missing), 1 (partially complete) or 2 (full credit) scale. If you are not assigned to complete HW check-ins, your HW grade will be based on your homework submissions alone.

Your grade for the check-in will be released along with your full HW grade. You will NOT receive your check-in grade at the check-in.

Late / Drop Policy: We will automatically drop the lowest check-in grade (out of the 7 homeworks) to provide some flexibility. You will not be allowed to use late days on HW check-ins.

We are not offering OAE extensions to the scheduling window for check-ins. Students with accommodations, like all students in the class, will need to schedule and attend their check-in during the class-wide announced check-in window.

Scheduling: You may sign up for one check-in slot per homework, with your @stanford.edu email. Sign-ups for each HW check-in will open the week prior, and we will email the check-in group when they are up. We encourage you to sign up early to get a slot that works for your schedule. Only students assigned to the check-in group may sign up (we will still hold office hours throughout the week for all students). You may reschedule your check-in slot at least 24 hours before your check-in, using the link in your confirmation email.

Please be on time. If you are late, you may be docked points on your check-in. If you do not show up to your slot, you will receive an automatic zero.

For any questions and concerns (e.g. unable to find any check-in slot that works for you), please make a private Ed post under the HW Check-ins category explaining your situation and your availability. We will try our best to accommodate your request, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. If you have extenuating circumstances (e.g. medical reasons) that make it difficult to participate in check-ins at all, or for any personal or sensitive matters, please email the course staff at cs221-staff-aut2627@cs.stanford.edu.

This is the first quarter we are running HW check-ins, so please bear with us as we work out the details. We really appreciate your participation and encourage you to share any feedback with the staff in our feedback surveys.