Gordon Arnold's Faculty Web Page

Tips

Tips for Success in My Classes

  • You are responsible for your education. An education will cost you money. A great education will cost you time and effort. You do not need this university (or any other) to learn. If you want to learn something, you can and will. If you don’t want to learn it, you can’t and you won’t. UTD is here to make your learning more efficient. If you are taking one of my classes, you have made it into UTD. That means you are quite capable. Thus, the burden is on you to make the most of your education here. The professor can teach the class, but the professor cannot learn and understand the material for you. That is your responsibility.
  • We are paid to help. I love teaching and working with students. This is my job, and I get paid for it. More specifically, you are paying me (and the rest of the faculty and staff) to do it. If you have a question and don’t ask it, you’re not getting what you have already paid for. Do not be afraid to ask questions and interact with your professors both inside and outside of class. Communication is key to education. If I am somehow not fulfilling your expectations about the class you are in, come talk to me. It is my desire (and my job) to correct the situation. If, after talking to me you remain unsatisfied, talk to my boss (daescu@utdallas.edu).
    There are lots of other resources you have paid for as well:
  • Education takes time and effort. For every 3-hour class you take, you should be spending an average of 6 hours outside of class working on it. If you have a full class load (12-16 hours), that’s the equivalent of a full time job (36-48 hours). If you don’t put at least that much time into your classes, don’t complain when your grades reflect your effort.
  • Take notes and study. In general, when in the classroom, I do not allow students to use computers. Computers and cell-phones are a distraction to learning. In class, you should be paying attention to the theory and techniques. Outside of class is when you should be doing homework and practicing your coding skills.
    • I suggest taking class notes by hand, if possible. This process involves watching and listening to the lecture, thinking about what it means, and then coordinating the motor skills necessary to transcribe that meaning onto paper. Multiple sections of your brain are required to make that happen. Studies have shown that the more sections of your brain that are involved, the more you remember. This is a good thing.
    • Studying means more than just reading the material. Reading the material is a start. You then need to use and apply the information to expand and validate your understanding. You can memorize “V=IR”, but unless you can use it to calculate the current through a resistor, it won’t be of any use. You should do the following for each topic in the class:
      • Read the material.
      • Take notes on the material.
      • Ask questions about the material.
      • Do the homework.
      • Ask questions about the homework.
      • Review the material.
      • Review your notes.
      • Review the homework.
      • Repeat.
  • Do not procrastinate. If you want to do well in this class, start early. Turn in all of your assignments.
    • Prioritize your life. What is most important to you? Whatever is your highest priority, schedule your time there first. Stick to that schedule. If spending time playing games with your friends is a priority, great! Schedule it. But if you put too many priorities before your education, you’ll be wasting the money spent here at UTD.
    • Assume everything will take longer than planned and schedule accordingly. If you have a project that will take 3 hours and it’s due at midnight, don’t start it at 9:00pm. If you plan to start at 10:00am, and it takes longer, you can still get it done.
    • Also, I want to help you get it done. I, however, cannot be available at all hours. If you start early and run into problems, there will still be time to get help.
  • Keep it simple and comment. Keep in mind that you always want to write code that is easy to understand and is also easy to maintain. Please use comments liberally. Keep in mind that your code should be understandable to a programmer that knows nothing about the project. In the “real world”, that programmer could be you a couple of months down the line.
  • Test thoroughly. If your code doesn’t run in the appropriate environment, your grade will be 0. Test all potential use cases before submission. In environments where the code is autograded (like zyBooks), be aware that the test cases I will grade you on are not necessarily the test cases that you can see.
  • Make mistakes. You will make mistakes when coding. Embrace the inevitability! The key is to not get discouraged, and learn what’s wrong so you can do it correctly in the future. It’s okay to ask for help (at least if you’re asking the professor).
  • Do it yourself. If you don’t do the work, you’re not getting the education you have paid for. If you let somebody else do the work for you, then you are lowering the value of not only your education but the reputation of the university and its graduates. As I received 2 of my 3 degrees from UTD, this does not make me happy.
    • All work you submit should be your own. Do not copy, reuse, borrow, modify, or otherwise take work (particularly code) from anyone or anyplace. If for some assignment you are allowed to reference other people’s work, be sure to attribute it properly.
      If I find any hint of academic dishonesty in my classes, I will immediately refer the alleged offender(s) to the Office of Community Standards and Conduct.
    • Students should avoid using web sites like GitHub and YouTube for help on projects. Copying code from a web site is considered plagiarism and will be treated as such. If you find code on a web site, it is highly likely another student will find it as well which may cause both submissions to be flagged for similarity. Submitting project and assignment details to web sites for outside help is also considered academic dishonesty by UTD.
    • All projects will be compared for originality. Any projects that are approximate or identical copies will be reported to the OCSC, and I will accept their decision in regards to the grade if they believe that academic dishonesty has occurred.
  • Assignments, Tests, and Grades all have a specific purpose. Assignments are given to improve your knowledge and understanding. Tests are given to measure that knowledge and understanding. Grades are not given. They are earned.

I have liberally borrowed some of the ideas and words above from two men for whom I have great respect, John Cole and Jason Smith.