Instructor:	Dr. Jan Pearce		C.P.O.:	1815
Office:	304-B Draper Hall (859) 985-3569		Office Hours:	4:00 - 5:00 MW, 3:00 - 4:00 TR, or by appointment
E-mail:	pearcej@berea.edu		Feel free to send e-mail for appointments at other times.

Course Goals Students will gain understanding of the: •    Organization of a typical computing system from the high-level language, machine-level and digital logic perspectives •    High-level programming language capabilities and limitations as related to computer hardware •    Various forms of data representation within a computer system Students should develop or enhance skills in: •    Programming in a low-level language and transferring these understandings to efficiently implement various high-level language and data structures •    Reasoning about software design in relation to hardware •    Debugging techniques ranging from low-level to high-level language design •    Communicating logical and computational ideas to others

Course Text The required text is Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, by David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy, the Third Edition, Revised Printing, Published by Morgan Kaufmann (ISBN: 978-0-12-370606-5 & ISBN10: 0-12-370606-8). Note that if you buy this text on the web, please be careful that you purchase this precise edition by using the ISBN number.

Course Web Page Our course home page is located at http://www.berea.edu/faculty/pearcej/CSC435/. Use this page as a resource to find this syllabus, homework assignments, and other course-related information.

Technology Policies Some of the work in this course will require use of the computer, so these policies are designed to help students better understand how to be effective in a technology-rich environment. Laptop and Software: Each student is required to bring his or her appropriately equipped laptop to class when announced. Unapproved Technology: The in-class use of unapproved technology will not be tolerated and in certain cases will constitute a violation of academic honesty. For example, no games are ever acceptable and communication programs, such as e-mail or instant messaging programs, are only acceptable for classwork during class, so must otherwise be disabled before class. Likewise, cellular phones and pagers must be disabled before class. To help students to appreciate the gravity of this policy, each and every in-class use of unapproved technology will result in a 1% reduction of the student's homework assignment grade. Citing: Team participation is a proven and useful means by which students can learn material. In addition, much information is easily accessible by searching the web. Students are encouraged to appropriately use information from other students, the web, and other resources. However, any information used from other students or any other resource MUST BE CITED. (See below for more information on this serious topic.) Email and Web: On the other hand, electronic communication programs are useful when used appropriately, so each student is required to use the course web page to access assignments and to use a Berea College e-mail account to facilitate electronic communication outside of class. Backups: All students are expected to back-up their work, which includes assignments, quizzes and exams daily. The best way to do this is to store a copy of all work on a DVD, CD, flash drive, or some other media, and not in another location on their laptop. The normally understanding instructor will not be at all sympathetic to loss of electronic work, so it is the student's responsibility to protect his/her work from such heartbreaking loss. Exceptions: Exceptions to any of these technology policies will be considered on an individual case-by-case basis but will only be granted under extremely unusual circumstances.

Attendance Policy Class lectures and discussions are considered to be a vital key to success in this course. It is the hope of the instructor that class sessions are both informative and useful, therefore attendance is expected at each class session unless a specific exception is made. This policy will be enforced in several ways. Quizzes will be announced and/or occasionally "popped," and because the lowest quiz grade will be dropped, under nearly all circumstances, make-up quizzes will not be given. Students who come late, leave early, or fail to fully participate during the class will be considered absent for that portion of the period, and such partial absences will accumulate. The final grade may be lowered by one third of a letter grade for each absence beyond the third. Thus, it is the responsibility of the student to speak to the instructor about each absence from class. This should be done as soon as possible, and if at all possible before the absence occurs. Students who miss class are held responsible for all of the material covered, assigned, and collected during their absence.

System of Evaluation
Maximum Final Grading Scale             Grade ≥ 93 %   A 90% ≤ Grade < 93 %   A- 87% ≤ Grade < 90 %   B+ 83% ≤ Grade < 87 %   B   80% ≤ Grade < 83 %   B- 77% ≤ Grade < 80 %   C+ 73% ≤ Grade < 77 %   C   70% ≤ Grade < 73 %   C- 67% ≤ Grade < 70 %   D+ 63% ≤ Grade < 67 %   D   60% ≤ Grade < 63 %   D-             Grade < 60 %   F			Evaluated Items Exam 1 Exam 2 Quiz Total Assignments Project Final Exam	Points 100 100 100 100 100 100	Grading Percentages ~16.7 % * ~16.7 % ~16.7 % ~16.7 %   ~16.7 % ~33.3 %
			* The lowest 100 points of the exam and quiz grade items will be dropped as explained below.

Please refer to the GRADING section of the current Berea College Catalog for the College-wide interpretations of these letter grades.

Grading Policies For the benefit of the students in the class, all course grade computations are continually updated by the instructor, so students may check frequently on their in-progress course grade during the term. Any questions/concerns regarding grading of any component of the course are to be addressed to the instructor only.
	* After having completed all work prior to the final exam and before dropping any points or receiving any bonuses, students who satisfy all of the following conditions have the option to not take the final and instead have the grade they have at that point be the final course grade: They have completed all coursework and quizzes and exams. They have not been excessively tardy to or absent from class. They have not had any noted incidents of disruptive behavior. They have a B- or better on their work based on the grading scale above. They are satisfied with their grade So that all are in agreement, this decision must be discussed in advance with the instructor.
	For all students taking the final exam, the lowest score earned on one 100 point exam score, quiz total or assignment item will be dropped before computing the final grade. If the lowest percentage score is earned on the 200 point final exam, then one half of the final exam score will be dropped. Note that the project grade may not be dropped.
	The instructor may raise the grade of students who have demonstrated significant improvement in their performance. This is the sole discretion of the instructor, but a student is welcome to bring this possibility to his/her attention.

Assignment Bonus

Assignments will be assigned on a near-daily basis, since working through problems thoughtfully and conscientiously is one of the keys to success in this course. Through assignments students get the needed practice of application of the concepts. Because the instructor desires to strongly encourage a diligent effort on assignments, students who turn in each of their assignments with no more than two late submissions, will be awarded an additional 5% on the assignment grade!

Exams and Quizzes Two tests and frequent short quizzes will be given in this course. Quizzes will be given nearly every class day. Quiz questions will include questions relating to the reading assignment for that lesson. Students will take these quizzes individually at the start of the class period. After everyone has completed taking the quiz individually, students will take the quiz again in groups, coming to consensus on the answers to each of the questions. Thus, evidence that you have engaged and retained the information you have read will be reflected in your quiz scores. By keeping track of group and individual scores separately, you will have measures of your ability to listen and to learn from others as well. The most likely time of the two tests will be:
Exam 1: Week of October 1 Exam 2: Week of November 19
Problems that appear on the tests will be more varied in nature, ranging from assignment-like problems to problems that require a deeper synthesis of ideas and from true or false questions to short-answer questions.

Comprehensive Final Exam The comprehensive final exam will occur on the last day of finals, Thursday, December 13 from 1:00 - 2:50. By Berea College policy, no instructor can reschedule a final exam on his or her own, so please plan now to take it then.

Class Atmosphere The members of this class constitute a learning community. Learning in such a community best takes place in an atmosphere in which instructor and the students treat everyone with mutual respect. Students need not always raise their hands in order to ask questions or to make comments, but they should not interrupt the instructor or fellow students in doing so. Students typically find the atmosphere set by the instructor to be a sometimes playful and nearly always relaxed one, but students will still need to work hard and consistently both in and out of class in order to do well. If at anytime you have thoughts, comments, or suggestions about how the class atmosphere could be improved or made into one which is more supportive of your learning, please come by or drop me a note about it. I welcome such suggestions. This course is designed to be a positive-learning experience for all students, but this cannot be achieved when students are disruptive or disrespectful, so the final grade of any student who is disruptive or disrespectful to the instructor or to another student by 3 percent for each incident following an initial formal warning.

Assignment Submissions All written assignments should be neat, organized, and should show sufficiently many steps to demonstrate a clear understanding of the techniques used. The student's name, and assignment number, and assignment description must be included at top of each homework submission.  If any of these identifiers are missing, that assignment score will be reduced. Homework is due at the beginning of class on the announced date due. If a student must miss class due to either a sickness or a planned absence, homework is still expected to be submitted on time. Some in-class assignments must be completed in class and may not be made-up, but late homework will typically be accepted for reduced credit up until the homework assignment is returned.  All late work must be clearly labeled both by assignment number and "as late". A selection of the homework problems will be graded for credit, and homework submissions not meeting the above standards may receive reduced credit. Homework assignments are posted on the web and most assignments may be requested in advance.

Teamwork Policies Learning to work in teams effectively is strongly encouraged. Some assignments will be specifically designed for teamwork, others for individual work, but on most homework assignments you can choose to work alone or in a team. All homework assignments must clearly include all of the authors' names.  On any homework assignment in which half or more of the work was completed in a team, a single copy of the homework submission should be handed in with all of the team's participants listed as authors. Due to the nature of the work in this course, unless otherwise stated, teams shall not consist of more than two members for most work. On any homework assignment where less than half of the work was completed in a team, individual homework assignments should be handed in with the author acknowledging all of the help received for each problem. This includes significant help received from other students, the instructor, TAs, or in the Math/CS Lab Consultants. This is meant to be a sharing process; do not "give credit" to other students who have not attempted to contribute to the work or to the team's work, because it is ultimately not a help for the student who did not contribute to the work. Thoughtful practice, not (even mindful) copying, is ultimately the best way to learn. Note that on all team-completed homework assignments, students must describe the roles played by each author on the homework submission. Anyone arriving in class late, leaving class early, or failing to fully participate during assigned teamwork, will receive the percentage of their team's score which represents the fraction of the class in which class they participated.  For example, since class is 110 minutes long, a student who arrives 11 minutes late and works 99 minutes, will get 99/110=90% of their team's earned points for that team's submitted assignment. Warning: Please be careful to conform to these standards for teamwork, since they are designed to encourage good learning practices. (Furthermore, copying another person's work or otherwise failing to adhere to these standards may even result in a charge of academic dishonesty.)

Final Project Student teams will complete a final project in this course on a topic selected by the student team. These projects will involve a more in-depth look at a topic appropriate to the course, as well as a written report and presentation.

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty Plagiarism is the use of anyone else's work or ideas without adequate citation.  It is a sin which is both easy to commit and easy to avoid.  Ideas taken from other people include those from published or unpublished books, articles, websites, TAs, or friends' homework.  The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite ALL your sources!  If you are not sure whether or not to cite a source, you should cite it! Simply put, plagiarism is not only cheating, it is stealing because it constitutes theft of someone else's ideas.  It is a serious offense, and Berea College takes it seriously.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated!  At the first offense, the student will receive an F for that assignment.  At the second offense, the student will fail the course.  In addition, ALL offenses of plagiarism will be reported to the Associate Provost for Academic Services as detailed in the Berea College Student Handbook.

Additional Help The main teaching assistant for this course will be Curtis Britland. He will be able to answer questions about the content in the course during consultations in the Math/CS Lab. Located in Hutchins Library room 230, the Math/CS Lab is open Sunday through Thursday from 7:00 to 9:15 PM (except on evenings of convocations when it closes early). Students are strongly encouraged to make use of the help available in the Math/CS Lab, as well as in the instructor's office hours. Best results are obtained trying to solve problems alone or in a group before asking for help, so in either place, students should be prepared to show what they have already tried. Topics in this course build throughout the course, so students should be sure to do their best to keep up with the class, so as to not get behind and possibly forever lost. No question to which one does not know the answer is "dumb" unless it goes unanswered because it remained unasked.