COSC 404 Database System Implementation

Spring (Winter Term 2) 2008 - University of British Columbia Okanagan

Overview

The COSC 404 course was successful this semester (instructor rating: 4.75 out of 5). The course content was almost identical to the graduate course COSC 244 in Iowa except that the last sections on distributed databases and data warehouses were removed. The assignments were done in open lab times, sometimes in pairs. This was a very large class by our standards (19 undergrads and one graduate student). That is partially reflective of the limited course options but also that many students are willing to try a course with me regardless of content.

I am very pleased with how the course turned out. Student understanding and performance was very good. Since I have had almost all the students in previous classes before, the lecture environment was relaxed and interactive. That is a major achievement as the material itself is quite complex and often hard to motivate.

The course involved six assignments, one midterm exam, a final exam, and an independent project. The projects were done okay. The labs could use some fine tuning, especially for clarity. Overall, the labs were enjoyed, especially the programming labs.

The class was in LIB 303 from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Tuesdays/Thursdays with a 2 hour lab on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

On-line Resources

• Syllabus

Student Performance

Of the 20 registered students who started the course, 19 got a D or above. The average GPA was 3.07. Charts showing the mark breakdown are below.

Comments

This class went well but could use a little tuning for a primarily undergraduate audience. This includes filtering some content as well as making the labs more straightforward. The lab performance was also hurt as the TA had not taken the course, even though the TA gave a very good effort.

Strengths of the Course

• "I really enjoyed the content of this course. It's the first course I've ever taken that I see direct applications in my work."
  


• "Labs were very involved and interesting."
  


• "Course material is presented in an organized way, and material is communicated well."
  


• "Excellent course pack. Much better than published textbook. Good mix of lecture and in-class exercises."
  

Weakness of the Course

• "Repeatedly told during class this was a "graduate level" course. Not according to course registration description."
  


• "The calculation questions on assignments need to be less ambiguous. Half of the time on them is spent figuring out exactly what you want. Tests were very long."
  


• "Too much material covered. The project doesn't add anything to the course except extra work."
  

Most Enjoyable Part of the Course

• "The labs were very interesting and I liked that we were able to work in groups/pairs and that we had two weeks to complete. I really liked the iterator lab."
  


• "This is my favorite course I have taken. Good job!"
  


• "The lectures, Dr. Lawrence is one of the best professors UBC-O has because of this."
  

General Comments

• "I have never had you as a professor before and I really regret that. I find that I am learning more, faster with the way that you teach. Being in my 5th year of computer science I am finding myself ready to be done and not looking forward to most classes. In CoSc 404 I look forward to every class and what we are going to learn and I am sure this is not completely because of the content."
  


• "Probably one of the best courses I have taken. Very interesting and well presented material. Challenging and interesting lab assignments. Mentally demanding and effective examinations."
  


• "I very much appreciate Ramon's teaching. Learned a great deal in a very short time. Knowledge that will be very valuable in future education and career. Only wish more of the computer science courses were taught with such a degree of professionalism and expertise."
  


• "Great course! Your teaching style is excellent and you have a great sense of humour. You explain things very well, and answer all questions clearly. Thanks for the great course!"