Getting Student Help#

There are three main roles through which students can assist with your courses. You may choose to work with students in all, none, or some of the roles. A brief description of each of the student roles is below.

Student Developers#

For new connectors, modules, or DECs, CDSS can match you with student developers who can help create materials. These students have experience working with Python, Jupyter notebooks, and basic data science libaries. They can help with brainstorming ideas and translating them into Python code. In the past, student developers have worked with instructors over the summer or in the early weeks of the semester. The time commitments for this role will vary based on student availability and instructor need.

Connector Assistants#

CDSS will match you with one or more undergraduate connector assistants (CAs) who can help you throughout the semester. CAs can help with a variety of tasks such as answering questions during lab, proofreading notebooks, maintaining the course website, developing course materials, etc. The specific tasks a CA takes on can vary based on the needs of the instructor and the CA’s interests. But CAs cannot do any grading.

All CAs are enrolled in a two unit decal course, Teaching Data Science - Connectors. This decal will provide them with the training needed to assist with the connectors. The decal consists of 90 hours of work for the semester, 39 hours of which will be spent on training and outside work for the decal course. The remaining 51 hours will be spent on any work related to the connector. Here is how we have broken down these 51 hours:

  • 9 hours of meetings with the connector instructor

  • 15 weeks x 2 hours weekly = 30 hours of connector course labs

  • 15 weeks x 1 hour weekly = 15 hours of office hours or lab prep

Our default policy is that CDSS staff will recruit and assign 1 Connector Assistant per 30 seats in the connector. Instructors are free to decline the help.

The default tasks of the CA will be to attend class and hold 1 office hour per week. Instructors are fully encouraged to work out alternative arrangements with their CAs that fit their needs better.

Graders/Readers#

Grading cannot be a responsibility of student developers or connector associates. If you would like a paid student grader/reader, please discuss this with Eric Van Dusen.