Introduction to Computing

Was intended to major in Comp Sci, may still try to do so but this course is definitely discouraging. With minimal prior knowledge in Python, I found this course unexpectedly challenging. The homework problems are much more difficult than the topics covered in class, making the lectures gradually useless in helping me solve the problems. Tho the grading is friendly, you can exchange extra homework problems with missing questions in exams: if you put in enough work you will likely end up with the letter grade you want.

Was intended to major in Comp Sci, may still try to do so but this course is definitely discouraging. With minimal prior knowledge in Python, I found this course unexpectedly challenging. The homework problems are much more difficult than the topics covered in class, making the lectures gradually useless in helping me solve the probl …Read more

This course would be fantastic if you have 3+ yrs of high school computer science under your belt. Prof. Andrews is a great person and incredibly smart but the pacing and workload for this course was unruly as someone who had never experienced programming. While the revision cycles were nice in essence, because I was constantly trying to get in my problem set for the week, I rarely had time to utilize the revision cycles before they were due. Another important note is that the in class time was almost useless. We rarely learned anything beyond conceptual understanding in class. Lastly, this course is introduced as an introductory course, it is not. Worth noting that I am not a stem major, I was simply exploring CS as a minor. My recommendation if you haven't taken CS before is to take the lower CS course offered if you are looking for an introductory course.

This course would be fantastic if you have 3+ yrs of high school computer science under your belt. Prof. Andrews is a great person and incredibly smart but the pacing and workload for this course was unruly as someone who had never experienced programming. While the revision cycles were nice in essence, because I was constantly tryin …Read more

I started taking this course a term prior with Prof. Vaccari and dropped it several weeks in. Prof. Andrews is a MUCH clearer lecturer and covered content much more thoroughly/answered questions better. There are multiple assignments to complete per week which can take a lot of time; office hours and TA hours are very worthwhile because a lot of problems feel very difficult but have very simple answers. Weekly labs are done in pairs, which I hated, but the labs themselves were never unreasonably difficult. Exams definitely take some time to study for. I would say this class isn't really worth the time unless you have a specific interest in compsci or a reason to learn Python.

I started taking this course a term prior with Prof. Vaccari and dropped it several weeks in. Prof. Andrews is a MUCH clearer lecturer and covered content much more thoroughly/answered questions better. There are multiple assignments to complete per week which can take a lot of time; office hours and TA hours are very worthwhile beca …Read more

I took this course to get a basic foundation of Python for other courses at Middlebury, but safe to say that I learned way more from the internet and the TAs than I did from the Basu and came away with basically no coding knowledge that I could confidently apply to future classwork. His grading standards were never clear (he didn't grade several lab or homework assignments at all), constantly canceled class (lectures, office hours, lab), and didn't provide the TAs with answer keys which made learning quite difficult. The lab periods themselves were a huge waste of time because he often wouldn't provide much help during the period -- they were always just a work period with zero guidance. Try to take this class with literally any other professor and you'll definitely have a better experience than me.

I took this course to get a basic foundation of Python for other courses at Middlebury, but safe to say that I learned way more from the internet and the TAs than I did from the Basu and came away with basically no coding knowledge that I could confidently apply to future classwork. His grading standards were never clear (he didn't g …Read more

I really liked this class! It challenged me and improved my problem solving and critical thinking skills. It feels like there is constantly an assignment to be working on, which can get tiring. However, the grading policy is very generous and allows for resubmissions, extensions, and extra credit. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in computer science or anyone looking to improve their logical thinking!

I really liked this class! It challenged me and improved my problem solving and critical thinking skills. It feels like there is constantly an assignment to be working on, which can get tiring. However, the grading policy is very generous and allows for resubmissions, extensions, and extra credit. I would definitely recommend it to a …Read more

As someone who has no experience with computer science, I thought this course would be more relaxed and move at a slower pace. I found the class to be extremely challenging. There are lots of opportunities to get help in office hours, TA hours, etc, but the material was very difficult for me to understand. There is usually one larger hw assignment per week, along with challenge problems occasionally, and labs once per week. I did not like the grading system of incomplete, satisfactory, or excellent and the tiered approach rather than just getting an average grade. I found the hw retakes to become overwhelming and the work builds significantly as the semester progresses. I would not recommend this class if you are expecting a more laid-back introduction to computer science and just want to try something new.

As someone who has no experience with computer science, I thought this course would be more relaxed and move at a slower pace. I found the class to be extremely challenging. There are lots of opportunities to get help in office hours, TA hours, etc, but the material was very difficult for me to understand. There is usually one larger …Read more

I took this class since I thought it would be useful to learn python for the future. I deeply regret my choice as it would have been wiser to log on to W3 schools/Codeacademy and read a textbook for the theory. Andrews' class is a complete waste of time. The lectures take forever and cover little important information and he is utterly unhelpful in office hours. The only thing that has gotten me through so far are certain TAs. Additionally, Andrews' has a sick obsession/power trip regarding getting students in trouble for using google/other resources (he hates generative AI). While I can understand professors want us to put in the effort, most of us are spending many hours working with TAs and are already stressed enough. Him accusing people left and right of honor code violations makes the classroom feel unsafe and keeps students in a constant state of anxiety. Avoid him at all costs (or at least for intro classes).

I took this class since I thought it would be useful to learn python for the future. I deeply regret my choice as it would have been wiser to log on to W3 schools/Codeacademy and read a textbook for the theory. Andrews' class is a complete waste of time. The lectures take forever and cover little important information and he is utter …Read more

I originally took this course because I wanted to minor in CS. This course has been a very very discouraging experience. Professor Andrews speaks in a very monotone voice so it can be a little disengaging, but overall his spends his class time discussing niche aspect of a topic, rather than teaching us the commands, what they do, how to use them, in order to create programs. For example, we were tasked to create different sound waves, but the class we learned about sound waves, the slides consisted of a picture of an ear and how to import Middsound, not how to create a sound wave. The exams are relatively fair material-wise, but have no partial credit which makes it hard to succeed.

I originally took this course because I wanted to minor in CS. This course has been a very very discouraging experience. Professor Andrews speaks in a very monotone voice so it can be a little disengaging, but overall his spends his class time discussing niche aspect of a topic, rather than teaching us the commands, what they do, how …Read more

I took this class without any prior knowledge of CS and loved it. I felt like I learned a lot more than I thought I would. The grading scheme makes it so you get the grade you want if you are willing to put in the work on homework, etc, and if you do, the exams are decent and doable. It definitely ramps up to be a lot more work than what one would expect from an intro class, but I feel like the value of taking this class has far surpassed any other intro class I've taken.

I took this class without any prior knowledge of CS and loved it. I felt like I learned a lot more than I thought I would. The grading scheme makes it so you get the grade you want if you are willing to put in the work on homework, etc, and if you do, the exams are decent and doable. It definitely ramps up to be a lot more work than …Read more

Having had computer science experience in the past, I found the course rather easy. The grading of the exams is harsh, but such a large amount of the grade is reliant on the homework that in the end, even if you are a poor exam performer it is still very possible to get a good grade.

Great start into programming. This class uses python with I find to be the easiest to learn on. Lectures were chill and the labs basically gave explicit instructions which is nice. The homeworks are typically easy but the challenges are a little more difficult. The class definitely gets harder as the course goes on.

I thought that this course was very interesting but it was definitely quite difficult as someone who has no prior cs experience. The homework can be very difficult and I found the TA hours to not be very helpful at all for this so instead would go to office hours which was helpful but there was limited time especially if there was a lot of people there.

If you are not planning on majoring in CS then I would not recommend this course. It's more intensive then you would expect and you will spend a more time working on the homework every week then you want to.

Vaccari is awesome. He is very enthusiastic and loves what he does. The course itself is quite difficult however if you are willing to work hard and go to office hours it is manageable as someone who has never taken any computing before.

Boring, and I like numbers. Too much work. Teacher walks around classroom. Definitely wish that I had not taken this course. It is unnecessarily annoying and stressful. It also lacks the fun aspects I expected

I learned more from google than I did from this course, and I can say with confidence that Shrutarshi Basu has more or less killed any desire I had to perhaps continue with a CS minor. Every single one of his lectures felt pointless, and the content was easily google-able. For someone with absolutely no computing experience this class would be difficult because there are such great leaps from what is(n't) explained in lecture and what you're expected to do in the problem set. Basu is completely inaccessible and condescending. There are exactly two good things I can say about this course: it gives you a DED credit, and you don't have to ever actually go to class to get an A. Be warned, and beware. Try to get Vaccari or literally anyone else.

I learned more from google than I did from this course, and I can say with confidence that Shrutarshi Basu has more or less killed any desire I had to perhaps continue with a CS minor. Every single one of his lectures felt pointless, and the content was easily google-able. For someone with absolutely no computing experience this clas …Read more

I found the course to be largely informative and engaging. Andrea is a really good professor and manages to show his passion for the subject matter, despite the fact that practically every student is watching YouTube on their laptop. The exams aren't very hard if you study a bit and you should always be able to get A's on the homework assignments, especially when you go to office hours when you are struggling with something. Overall, I would highly recommend that you take this course with Andre, whether its for the major our just out of curiosity.

I found the course to be largely informative and engaging. Andrea is a really good professor and manages to show his passion for the subject matter, despite the fact that practically every student is watching YouTube on their laptop. The exams aren't very hard if you study a bit and you should always be able to get A's on the homewor …Read more

While I think the course material itself is interesting, I do not think that the teaching was effective. Lectures were slow and barely covered the tools we needed in order to complete homework. Often, the homework required much more complicated techniques than we were prepared to use, and lectures sometimes felt pointless because they covered rudimentary parts of harder concepts that we were then expected to know how to do on homework/challenges. I believe that the assignments were effective in teaching, however I know that because of the lack of detail and explanation of concepts in class, many people resorted to AI or the internet (both of which we technically weren't allowed to use) in order to meet the minimum requirements to pass.

While I think the course material itself is interesting, I do not think that the teaching was effective. Lectures were slow and barely covered the tools we needed in order to complete homework. Often, the homework required much more complicated techniques than we were prepared to use, and lectures sometimes felt pointless because the …Read more

Vaccari is a pleasure to have as an instructor. His way of breaking down information makes even the most complex problems easy to understand. For such a difficult class, the content was surprisingly easy to understand and learn. His lectures are extremely informative and his notes help fill in any gaps. His teaching style is very accommodating and encourages students to experiment and ask questions. As someone without previous knowledge of computer science, I had to problems understanding material in class. The hardest part of the class is actually the homework assignments that could take up to 5-6 hours to complete. If you go to office hours you will be fine.

Vaccari is a pleasure to have as an instructor. His way of breaking down information makes even the most complex problems easy to understand. For such a difficult class, the content was surprisingly easy to understand and learn. His lectures are extremely informative and his notes help fill in any gaps. His teaching style is very acc …Read more

Professor Vaccari is a fantastic instructor. He is very passionate about the topics and accommodating. He provides a lot of help outside the class through office and TA hours. The class demands a lot of students, but I thought it to be interesting work. Each week, there was a large coding pset, a lab, and a quiz. The lectures are interesting but very content-dense. I would only take the course if you are seriously interested in CS as a major or minor. The tests cover a lot of material but are manageable if you study and go to office hours.

Professor Vaccari is a fantastic instructor. He is very passionate about the topics and accommodating. He provides a lot of help outside the class through office and TA hours. The class demands a lot of students, but I thought it to be interesting work. Each week, there was a large coding pset, a lab, and a quiz. The lectures are int …Read more

Professor Vaccari is a very enthusiastic professor and understands computer science topics very well. If you go to him with a question, he is very good at providing help without giving the answer away, even on exams. He is sometimes difficult to understand as he sometimes doesn't provide clear directions on homeworks or labs, but it typically doesn't keep you from figuring out what he means - just takes some effort. The class itself is a good intro if you want to continue to take CS courses but might not be for you if you don't have any interest in it at all.

Professor Vaccari is a very enthusiastic professor and understands computer science topics very well. If you go to him with a question, he is very good at providing help without giving the answer away, even on exams. He is sometimes difficult to understand as he sometimes doesn't provide clear directions on homeworks or labs, but it …Read more

I loved his teaching style and he was very reasonable when work timing became tough, however he did not switch groups often so i got stuck with a partner that did not do their work. It was nothing wrong with the class I would take it again, if I had a different partner mix.

This class was definitely difficult, but you got out of it what you put into it. I was able to effectively learn material, but you needed to actually put time into each assignment! It is not an easy A, but you can definitely get by if you actually engage with the material.

This class is very hard if you don't have any prior computer science experience. Professor Vaccari is extremely helpful when you need it and the TAs are great. The work was very time consuming and challenging. Tests are also on paper which really didn't work out to my favor.

I personally struggled a decent amount in this class, but I am not a computer science major or minor. I took this class as a cognate requirement for my ECSC major, and comp sci is a drastically different way of thinking. Vaccari is an enthusiastic professor, but I definitely feel like the speed of the material has made it difficult to keep up. However, I also recognize that computer science is a learning curve that I have yet to master, so someone else might have an overall better experience than me.

I personally struggled a decent amount in this class, but I am not a computer science major or minor. I took this class as a cognate requirement for my ECSC major, and comp sci is a drastically different way of thinking. Vaccari is an enthusiastic professor, but I definitely feel like the speed of the material has made it difficult t …Read more

I genuinely enjoyed taking this course with Prof Andrea, but more because of his personality than his teaching style. He's super passionate about the material he's teaching but doesn't always explain the material in a way that is understandable for someone who has absolutely no experience with computer science. That being said, he is very friendly and is super helpful during office hours so your success in the class depends on how much work you plan to put into it.

I genuinely enjoyed taking this course with Prof Andrea, but more because of his personality than his teaching style. He's super passionate about the material he's teaching but doesn't always explain the material in a way that is understandable for someone who has absolutely no experience with computer science. That being said, he is …Read more

This course is set up to have extremely difficult homeworks that would take hours to complete. The weekly quizzes are also so difficult even though they are meant to be comprehension checks. They seemed almost harder than test questions. Otherwise Prof Vaccari is very enthusiastic and there are is some form of CS help almost 24/7 which is a bonus.

After taking this class, you will learn if coding is for you. It's a great starting class for coding, and I found the projects and homework pretty interesting. You might not like them, though. It depends on the person. Basu was not a great teacher, and he was boring, so I would not retake him in the future.

Professor Vaccari is a passionate comp sci teacher, but the class covers so much material that I often felt behind. Class was helpful but also I felt like I didn't learn as much as I could. The notes he provides are not useful. Homeworks and Labs are disproportionately hard. Exams are handwritten and easy. I found smith was a great help for homework.

Professor Vaccari is sooo passionate about CS and you feel it through his enthusiasm. He sometimes yaps a lot and kind of loses the attention of students, if you ask him questions either right after class or during office hours, he's super helpful. Exams feel pretty hard because the samples that Vaccari gave us were NOT like the actual exams, so if you take this course with Vaccari, you'd want to study a bit more than just going over the sample exams.

Professor Vaccari is sooo passionate about CS and you feel it through his enthusiasm. He sometimes yaps a lot and kind of loses the attention of students, if you ask him questions either right after class or during office hours, he's super helpful. Exams feel pretty hard because the samples that Vaccari gave us were NOT like the actu …Read more

This course made me love Computer Science. I had no previous experience nor am I good in math. If you played video games and in particular puzzle solving / rpgs / turn based combat games growing up, you will find that coding is no different once you learn the language. The professor's teaching was not very helpful for me. Luckily the readings were easy to understand in the beginning until reaching the HW06 Images. You can teach yourself most of the material and you can always go to the TA's. Great class. Make sure to get a good professor if you can.

This course made me love Computer Science. I had no previous experience nor am I good in math. If you played video games and in particular puzzle solving / rpgs / turn based combat games growing up, you will find that coding is no different once you learn the language. The professor's teaching was not very helpful for me. Luckily the …Read more

The content of the course was fine, and wasn't overly difficult. I did, however, feel that Basu was not an effective instructor. He showed little interest in the class, and didn't even seem to know what he was teaching most of the time. He didn't create the curriculum, but it also looked like he was reading the slides for the first time in class. Our "live-coding" was just him copying and pasting dozens of lines of code at once and then not explaining what they do. Grading was very generous on the exams.

The content of the course was fine, and wasn't overly difficult. I did, however, feel that Basu was not an effective instructor. He showed little interest in the class, and didn't even seem to know what he was teaching most of the time. He didn't create the curriculum, but it also looked like he was reading the slides for the first t …Read more

Philip (Professor Caplan) knows what he's doing. Despite having a strong background in not only computer science (of course) but also math and physics, he breaks down important concepts into understandable bits and spreads them out in lecture videos, labs and pair work. Perhaps (due to COVID, but) rare in introductory courses in the Computer Science department, the midterms and final exam were administered completely online, i.e., no handwritten component. There was a Canvas quiz for concept understanding, but the coding questions were on a fully functional IDE online so we could run the code ourselves and feel confident about the results. Personally, I pretty much always knew my progress in the course.

Philip (Professor Caplan) knows what he's doing. Despite having a strong background in not only computer science (of course) but also math and physics, he breaks down important concepts into understandable bits and spreads them out in lecture videos, labs and pair work. Perhaps (due to COVID, but) rare in introductory courses in the …Read more

I absolutely loved this course. I had not taken any computer science classes nor coded before joining this class. It made me fall in love with computer science and I can't wait to take more classes in the department! Professor Chodrow is a great guy and was very helpful and accommodating.

This course was my first experience with cs and I found it be very rewarding. It wasn't a ton of work and I felt like I gained a real understanding of programming. Vaccari was a good professor, but his lecture were confusing sometimes.

I took this class because I was interested in the CS minor. While it was challenging, it was very accessible for someone with no CS or math background and the instructors absolutely approach the class as if nobody has any coding or math experience prior. Most of your grade is just HW and labs, and the class is extremely well-structured and organized. Midterm and final are handwritten.

I took this class because I was interested in the CS minor. While it was challenging, it was very accessible for someone with no CS or math background and the instructors absolutely approach the class as if nobody has any coding or math experience prior. Most of your grade is just HW and labs, and the class is extremely well-structur …Read more

I came into this course with no prior experience in coding, and in the first few weeks the difference in level became clear especially with labs. Although it felt overwhelming at the start, there are many resources available to you!! Drop in sessions and additional help with Professor Chodrow made the class easier. He is always optimistic and motivating you. It was a challenging but enjoyable course which sparked my interest to pursue this as a major.

I came into this course with no prior experience in coding, and in the first few weeks the difference in level became clear especially with labs. Although it felt overwhelming at the start, there are many resources available to you!! Drop in sessions and additional help with Professor Chodrow made the class easier. He is always opti …Read more

Professor Vaccari is very enthusiastic and energetic in class, which makes him feel approachable. He is good at covering the course material and is accommodating of students’ needs. He is a great person to get to know outside of class too!

Vaccari is a great teacher. The class itself can be difficult at times, but Vaccari is always willing to help explain concepts in more depth. There is a lab and homework assignment each week, which takes some time, but never too difficult.

Professor Chodrow is a sweetheart. Not only is he extremely passionate about Computer Science, but he's approachable and empathic. He finds a way to help students when they are struggling and actually listens to our needs. Yeah sure, the work can be difficult but there is always someone to help you!

I really liked this course. Even though the content is very confusing at times, Vaccari was very good at explaining it and he was very enthusiastic about the material. Exams were somewhat difficult, but the homework and labs were not too bad.

I found that the teaching style was extremely helpful for learning the basics of computer science. Although the homeworks and labs were difficult at times, if you spent enough time on them you could typically figure them out. Even if you couldn't, office hours were very helpful with getting over a hurdle. Overall, I would definitely recommend any course with Professor Biester.

The lectures were not very interesting and I felt like I had to spend a lot of additional time at TA hours to get a grasp on the material. It was way too difficult for a beginner level class in my opinion.

I really enjoyed this class with Prof. Biester. She was very informative during office hours, and was very willing to give extra practice before exams. In terms of grading, 30% is homework, so you should really get a good start on them (she gives a full week for each homework assignment) to provide yourself with enough time to go to drop-in hours if needed. The homeworks and exams were really not that hard though as long as you pay attention in class. She gave us a lot of practice exams, which was nice.

I really enjoyed this class with Prof. Biester. She was very informative during office hours, and was very willing to give extra practice before exams. In terms of grading, 30% is homework, so you should really get a good start on them (she gives a full week for each homework assignment) to provide yourself with enough time to go to …Read more

This year was Professor Biester's first time teaching at MIDD, and I think she did a very good job. She was understanding of us students and often asked for feedback which she incorporated as the class progressed. The exams are pretty fair and she makes sure to give us resources to study for them, especially the midterm. The homework can be hard sometimes, but TA and office hours help a lot so I recommend taking advantage of that.

This year was Professor Biester's first time teaching at MIDD, and I think she did a very good job. She was understanding of us students and often asked for feedback which she incorporated as the class progressed. The exams are pretty fair and she makes sure to give us resources to study for them, especially the midterm. The homework …Read more

Course was well designed and structured, making it easy for students to manage assignments outside of the classroom. As someone who never had any prior experience in computer science before, I did find this course a little challenging and very time-consuming. The professor did a well job sharing the base knowledge to a concept but I personally felt that there could have been more explanation on the reasoning behind certain python concepts rather than giving us a formula (I did find myself having to take a lot more time to figure out how to apply certain concepts to different problems on my own) but then again considering the amount of content we had to cover in a semester I think as long as you sit down and figure thinks out and seek help from peer tutors and the professor AND study hard for your exams, you should get an A.

Course was well designed and structured, making it easy for students to manage assignments outside of the classroom. As someone who never had any prior experience in computer science before, I did find this course a little challenging and very time-consuming. The professor did a well job sharing the base knowledge to a concept but I …Read more

Professor Chodrow is super accomodating. Course progresses fairly quickly but builds on itself well. Might be hard to keep up if you're not at all familiar with any of the concepts, but we had a lot of help available from students and professor. Exam was reasonably hard but not deadly, nice thing is that work that goes into your final grade is more spread out in homework tasks and projects. A LOT of collaborative work, sometimes frustrating when skill levels differ between partners, but sometimes valuable also.

Professor Chodrow is super accomodating. Course progresses fairly quickly but builds on itself well. Might be hard to keep up if you're not at all familiar with any of the concepts, but we had a lot of help available from students and professor. Exam was reasonably hard but not deadly, nice thing is that work that goes into your fina …Read more

Reading reviews, I was worried about starting Computer Science at Middlebury with Basu. However, he has been great, the class has not been overly difficult. There are weekly quizzes on canvas, anyone can get an a, and labs and hws will be done by TAs if you ask.

Phil is by far my favorite professor this semester. He is extremely passionate about the topics he is teaching and very patient with students. I walked into the course without any background in computer science, and walked out being interested in making it a minor/major. The class was quite fast-paced it wasn’t very difficult because there was loads of help and resources. I would strongly recommend taking a computer science course with Phil.

Phil is by far my favorite professor this semester. He is extremely passionate about the topics he is teaching and very patient with students. I walked into the course without any background in computer science, and walked out being interested in making it a minor/major. The class was quite fast-paced it wasn’t very difficult because …Read more

I had a great experience in this course, Professor Phil is a great instructor who's very enthusiastic when it comes to teaching. He always makes lectures interesting, however some topics of the course move quite fast but as someone who's had prior experience programming in Python, it wasn't an issue. If you have experience with Python I'd say not to worry to much. Professor Phil is also very easy to talk to so if you have any issues whether it be content or anything reaching out is your best option.

I had a great experience in this course, Professor Phil is a great instructor who's very enthusiastic when it comes to teaching. He always makes lectures interesting, however some topics of the course move quite fast but as someone who's had prior experience programming in Python, it wasn't an issue. If you have experience with Pytho …Read more

I loved this course with professor foley. He made me want to take CS as a major. The environment for working on projects was relaxed because he wanted to make it as similar to the work place as possible. It was a steady pace for me but I can see how it may be a bit challenging to others. Must stay on top of your work to succeed but its not too hard to.

I took professor Chodrow class this fall of 2022. He’s an energetic, passionate, and great teacher. You might find his teaching to be a bit fast, but if you meet with him after hours or talk to him 1-1, this is where his teaching truly shines. Over all my experience with this class has been quite good, not much complaint.

I really liked this class. I had taken a computer science class in high-school, and this course was the perfect blend of topics I was familiar with and things I had not learned yet. The readings aren't always necessary, but I found them to be very coherent and useful, especially because they were created specifically for this class. Homework can be challenging at times, but never unbearable, and office hours are useful. Most of the times labs cannot be completed within the lab period, so you do have to be prepared to meet with your partner outside of class, but typically it is not that bad. Overall the course is well-organized and interesting and I would recommend.

I really liked this class. I had taken a computer science class in high-school, and this course was the perfect blend of topics I was familiar with and things I had not learned yet. The readings aren't always necessary, but I found them to be very coherent and useful, especially because they were created specifically for this class. …Read more

The class is fun and interactive with a few mini questions and PPTs. There's only one assignment and one lab work per week, which make it manageable but these tasks do need to take some time to finish as they sometimes are pretty tricky. Tests aren't very difficult as well if you spend time and review all the notes provided properly.

Prof Biester so clearly cares about her students and their comprehension of the material and will take the time to answer questions and clear up any confusion during class or her office hours. Her knowledge and passion for the material is clear. The homework was sometimes a lot but never felt too excessive and the exams were fair.

This was my first computer science class that I had ever taken. I had zero prior knowledge which set me at a bit of a deficit but the class is taught from ground zero. Professor Biester was wonderful and there are countless TA's to go to for help during help hours. Although there is a good amount of time spent on the work outside of class, the work is valuable and interesting.

Did not enjoy this class with professor Basu. I though his lecturing was very dry and boring which made it difficult to pay attention in class. I enjoyed the homeworks and projects but learned most of the material outside of class through notes or google.

Fairly easy course until about halfway through. Professor is not very good at actually teaching the material and asking questions. Labs and homeworks are do-able with much help from the TAs. Exams are more difficult than one would expect, but exams are only 30% of the final grade so you can make it work. Definitely would not recommend this prof, but for a one off intro class it's fine. However, if you intend to major in CS I recommend taking this intro class with a different prof as the things you learn in this course are vital and you should have a good grasp on the concepts

Fairly easy course until about halfway through. Professor is not very good at actually teaching the material and asking questions. Labs and homeworks are do-able with much help from the TAs. Exams are more difficult than one would expect, but exams are only 30% of the final grade so you can make it work. Definitely would not recommen …Read more

I really liked the teaching style for this course. Professor Laura Biester was very organized. The upcoming assignments of the semester were all posted online and it was easy to find class slides, homework and lab instructions and any information you needed for the class. She was also patient and was able to explain concepts clearly.

CS 0145 was a good introduction to computer science for someone who has never coded before, could get difficult at times but never overwhelming or impossible. It's a good class to take if you are interested in CS. This was Professor Biester's first time teaching and I think she did a good job. This class does ramp up fast though and I spent most of my free time at the TA hours and it was very helpful.

CS 0145 was a good introduction to computer science for someone who has never coded before, could get difficult at times but never overwhelming or impossible. It's a good class to take if you are interested in CS. This was Professor Biester's first time teaching and I think she did a good job. This class does ramp up fast though a …Read more

I took the Intro to Computing -CSCI 0145- class, which was amazing! The professor was engaging, the assignments were relevant and challenging, and I learned a lot about coding, algorithms, and python. Highly recommend for anyone interested in computer science.

Professor Basu's teaching falls short in several aspects. His lectures lack clarity, leaving students confused. Assessment criteria seem arbitrary, making it difficult to gauge progress. Overall, the learning experience under his guidance is disappointing and unsatisfactory.

This class was my first experience in computer science and it was really tough at times. Especially in the last month, it felt like we were going way too fast. That said, Vaccari was very kind and helpful and provided a bunch of useful resources on top of his engaging lectures. We had two coding assignments per week (one hw and one lab) and I frequently had to visit the peer tutors to make sense of them. The exams were also pretty tricky, especially the final because the last few weeks of content felt so rushed.

This class was my first experience in computer science and it was really tough at times. Especially in the last month, it felt like we were going way too fast. That said, Vaccari was very kind and helpful and provided a bunch of useful resources on top of his engaging lectures. We had two coding assignments per week (one hw and one l …Read more

Prof. Vaccari was always super excited to teach basic python programming. I had never done any CS before and this class was an awesome introduction for me. Things definitely started out tough, and the course was never easy, but over the semester I felt more and more confident in my coding abilities. I would definitely recommend taking this class.

This course was very helpful in establishing a basis in computer science knowledge. It never really went too fast, and any questions you have could always be answered by the professor. There are also plenty of TAs available. The tests were basic and did not require much studying as long as you follow along with the lectures and hw.

Course overall wasn't too bad. Homework was relatively easy. We did often have quizzes but they were generally easy to average and he was a fair grader. If a lot of people got a question wrong, he would remove the question from the quiz. Also exams were online. That being said near the end the difficulty ramped really quick with like 2 difficult projects.

The class was slow-placed and really didn't require any knowledge about coding prior to taking the class. The only challenging portion of the class was the final project where you will be asked to work on a project. The lab portions of the class helped me with learning more about coding(although it was not mandatory). Also, the exams are take-home online.

This course was not difficult in material itself, and in general lecture was engaging and material was explained well. The labs and exams were tough but not crazy, but the homeworks were insanely difficult, and it took me close to 4-5 hours a week to complete

Basu was a solid teacher. In this class, we mainly went over how to code in Python, learning syntax and doing examples in class. The main workload was in the homework and labs we had each week. While occasionally more difficult, they usually took no more than an hour each. I'd recommend this class for anyone looking for a basic introduction to coding and transferable skills to most other majors.

Basu was a solid teacher. In this class, we mainly went over how to code in Python, learning syntax and doing examples in class. The main workload was in the homework and labs we had each week. While occasionally more difficult, they usually took no more than an hour each. I'd recommend this class for anyone looking for a basic intro …Read more

Lectures often break down complex concepts into digestible pieces, providing insights that aren't always obvious from textbooks alone. Homework assignments reinforce these ideas, giving you practical experience and a chance to apply what you've learned, which is crucial in a hands-on subject like CS.

I really enjoyed taking this class with professor Vacari he made sure to keep the class engaged and would cover any questions after class. The homework was a lot but pretty easy to get done since he allowed you to work with others. The labs were enjoyable and a decent amount of work outside of lab

Professor Vaccari is an amazing professor, and for all the intro to CS students was always available for office hours, to answer questions, and supplied great supplementary material to clarify lecture concepts.

This course is a good start for someone who is interested in computer science, it could be difficult for an absolute beginner in Python. The materials we learned in class may have little relation to the HW, meaning that you may encounter unfamiliar concepts and often time you may need to spend extra time in the CS help sessions to figure them out. Professor Biester is very organized and responsible. She sent out teaching feedback form for us to fill in and made improvement in her teaching method. She now started to explain a bit more about the HW before letting us to do it.

This course is a good start for someone who is interested in computer science, it could be difficult for an absolute beginner in Python. The materials we learned in class may have little relation to the HW, meaning that you may encounter unfamiliar concepts and often time you may need to spend extra time in the CS help sessions to fi …Read more

I really liked their teaching style. They teach the basic of these computing concepts really well. USually had a lot fo homework every week and also had Lab assignments that were due. Going to office hours really helped too. It is a really fun course.

Vaccarri is awesome and fun. Things are confusing at times but with only one homework and one lab per week there's not too much work and the links in canvas can help to clear up anything confusing. Exams are fine if you study.

Although it is clear Professor Basu cares about what he does, the classes are often times boring and not exciting to attend. This course in general also has a lot of busy work and it is very tedious and takes a lot of time. But USE TA HOURS.

Maybe the worst class I've ever taken at Midd. Professor was almost completely ineffective and assigned time consuming homeworks and labs every week. I learned nothing in lectures and labs, and spent hours almost every night in TA hours trying to figure out the convoluted instructions with the equally frustrated and confused TAs. The exams were really hard and often had material we had never discussed or reviewed. I learned nothing in this class which was unbelievable disappointing because I was excited to try comp sci and now I never want to step foot into the building ever again.

Maybe the worst class I've ever taken at Midd. Professor was almost completely ineffective and assigned time consuming homeworks and labs every week. I learned nothing in lectures and labs, and spent hours almost every night in TA hours trying to figure out the convoluted instructions with the equally frustrated and confused TAs. The …Read more

Learning mainly occurs from the difficult homework assignments. Being one of Professor Biester's first class, the course started off on a rocky start, but she was very accommodating in the needs of the students. Doable for students with no prior knowledge, just might have to read more.

Professor Chodrow is absolutley amazing. I loved his class but would not recommend unless you want to explore the major. It is a lot of work. I beleibe that anyone can get an A in this class, it juts takes loads of time.

The course material was easy to understand during the first half of the semester, and initially, I enjoyed the class and the professor. However, it hits a point after the first half where the material isn't easy to understand on your own anymore, and that is when I realized the professor is actually not prepped enough to teach a class of students. He doesn't even remember 80% of our names and had to ask most of us when handing back our midterms. Gives lectures and notes, but they aren't sufficient enough to do labs and homework on your own. You will most likely go to TA hours at least once or twice during the semester if not every week. If you have had prior experience with CS, you'll probably be ok. Otherwise, not friendly to beginners.

The course material was easy to understand during the first half of the semester, and initially, I enjoyed the class and the professor. However, it hits a point after the first half where the material isn't easy to understand on your own anymore, and that is when I realized the professor is actually not prepped enough to teach a clas …Read more

Laura is very nice and prepared, however, her lectures and readings are not enough to tackle the labs and homework she assigns. The class is extremely fast-paced, and her lectures are far too simple compared to the HW and labs she assigns. Not a fan of the autograder -- to picky. Also not a fan of her late policy, but I do think it's fair. Overall, there is something really wrong with this class. Far too difficult.

Laura is very nice and prepared, however, her lectures and readings are not enough to tackle the labs and homework she assigns. The class is extremely fast-paced, and her lectures are far too simple compared to the HW and labs she assigns. Not a fan of the autograder -- to picky. Also not a fan of her late policy, but I do think it's …Read more

One of the GOAT professors. Caring, understanding, and exceptional at teaching a difficult introductory course. You can always talk to him whenever and class passes by pretty quickly with him teaching.

Basu was not at all accommodating for his students. He showed zero enthusiasm during lectures, and was often unprepared to teach. He could not answer my questions on labs, and was often not available during office hours.

The class is intro but doesnt seem that way due to the students with pior knowledge. Phil was a nice and accommodating professor, but struggled to bridge the gap needed to understand python, for intro students.

This course was very difficult as a person with no prior coding experience, as Professor Basu didn't really know how to explain concepts to beginners and didn't have much of an understanding to the pace that we needed to go at. Homeworks were extremely difficult as we had no prior examples to the types of questions included in them. Labs were manageable.

Professor Vaccari was the best. His lectures were really clear and always aligned to the problem sets. His class was manageable in terms of the workload, and he gives you time in class to work on the lab where one is able to ask questions.

I found the material of the class helpful and engaging however the lectures were not so much. I thought that he presented the material logically and and it was relatively easy to follow the class, however the class occasionally felt like I was there just for participation reasons. The workload is very manageable with only weekly lab assignments.

Big fan of Vaccari, definitely a lot better than Basu. Vaccari writes all the tests, so it's much easier to understand the material if you're in his class. Otherwise, it's a pretty okay class, decent amount of work but nothing crazy

This course was amazing in general! The professor was really helpful at all times and was always ready to help out with any problem that you have. The workload was a lot but doable. I would definitely take this class again!

I took this course as a total beginner to computer science. I wanted to see what the experience would be like and it was very challenging for me. I thought the professor was very enthusiastic and nice but the subject was just difficult for me to grasp.

Overall a difficult course for anyone new to coding. I'd recommend getting some form of experience prior to taking the course because it moves quick and you're going to want to have a decent foundation by the time week 5 roles around. Biester was a good professor, lectures were what you'd expect and homework not that long. Cheat sheets were provided on the exams but they felt difficult for the beginner coder

Overall a difficult course for anyone new to coding. I'd recommend getting some form of experience prior to taking the course because it moves quick and you're going to want to have a decent foundation by the time week 5 roles around. Biester was a good professor, lectures were what you'd expect and homework not that long. Cheat shee …Read more

This introductory computer science course is essential for anyone planning to major in the field, covering fundamental concepts and skills that are crucial for further study. While the course content is undeniably useful, providing a solid foundation in programming and computational thinking, the delivery by the professor was less than satisfactory. Despite this, the class materials and assignments ensure that students still have the opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge.

This introductory computer science course is essential for anyone planning to major in the field, covering fundamental concepts and skills that are crucial for further study. While the course content is undeniably useful, providing a solid foundation in programming and computational thinking, the delivery by the professor was less th …Read more

It was the professor's first year teaching and I think overall she's doing a good job. There are times when I do wish she had prepared us more in class with more examples related to the homework (this was my first time taking CS and sometimes I felt really unequipped to do the homework), but I also understand its difficult to teach something that requires a lot of self-practice

Lots of work overall. Homework and Lab due each week and a Quiz on canvas. Pretty easy grading so as long as you submit everything you can get a good grade. I had little coding experience prior but picked it up pretty easily. CS Department has lots of resources for the courses as well. There were tutoring session almost nightly and Professor Chodrow had plenty of office hours.

Although the class has a lot of work, you learn a lot from it and Phil is a professor is really helpful and easy to talk to. Homework and labs took a lot of time out of my week to do, but again you learn a lot from it. Exams are also difficult on paper, but you can do it.

Intro to Computing is necessary if you want to continue with computer science at Middlebury. The course consists of one homework and one lab a week which aren't too bad if you go to TA hours and are graded fairly easily. I found the lectures though to be very convoluted at times and not necessarily related to the information in the labs. Exams are easy if you are confident in the homework, but going to TA hours is often necessary as I found myself there for both the homework and lab each week.

Intro to Computing is necessary if you want to continue with computer science at Middlebury. The course consists of one homework and one lab a week which aren't too bad if you go to TA hours and are graded fairly easily. I found the lectures though to be very convoluted at times and not necessarily related to the information in the l …Read more

The in class material was much easier than any homework or labs. Office hours were almost always a must for either the labs or homeworks. The auto grader made it very easy to have a high grade in the class. Readings are not important. Expect to be challenged with homeworks and labs.

I would not take this class again because of the teaching style. I felt talked to rather than taught at. Most of my learning happened independently and I only learned when I went to office hours. He was an easy grader.