Oral Evaluations
Overview
Oral evaluations account for 20% of your final grade, divided into four separate 5% evaluations throughout the semester. Each student must schedule a 15-minute Zoom meeting with their assigned Teaching Fellow (TF) to discuss their problem set solutions and demonstrate understanding of their code.
Important: You can only schedule an oral evaluation meeting after you have completed and submitted the problem sets included in that evaluation period.
Evaluation Schedule
| Evaluation | Date Range | Problem Sets Included | Grade Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Eval 1 | September 15 - September 30 | Problem Sets 1-2 | 5% |
| Oral Eval 2 | October 15 - October 31 | Problem Sets 3-5 | 5% |
| Oral Eval 3 | November 5-20 | Problem Sets 6-7 | 5% |
| Oral Eval 4 | December 1 - December 15 | Problem Sets 8-9 | 5% |
TF Assignments
Students are assigned to Teaching Fellows based on the first letter of their last name:
| TF Name | Last Name Starting Letter |
|---|---|
| Angela | A-H |
| Ava | I-Q |
| Emma | R-X |
| Jing | Y-Z |
Scheduling Instructions: Contact your assigned TF through their dedicated Slack channel to schedule your meeting. Channel assignments:
- Angela: #oral-evals-angela
- Ava: #oral-evals-ava
- Emma: #oral-evals-emma
- Jing: #oral-evals-jing
Zoom Link for Oral Evaluations: Zoom
Evaluation Criteria
Your oral evaluation will be graded on the following scale:
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 0/5 | No meeting scheduled |
| 1/5 | No understanding of the code/answers |
| 2/5 | Limited understanding of code/answers |
| 3/5 | Moderate understanding of code/answers but with significant gaps in explanations |
| 4/5 | Good understanding of code/answers but moderate gaps in explanations |
| 5/5 | Excellent understanding of code/answers with either very little or no gaps in explanations |
What to Expect
During your 15-minute meeting, your TF may ask you to:
- Explain specific lines or sections of your code
- Walk through your problem-solving approach
- Justify your choice of methods or functions
- Discuss any challenges you encountered and how you solved them
- Demonstrate your understanding of key concepts covered in the problem sets
Come prepared to discuss any part of your submitted work in detail.