Reflection¶

Reflection before looking at evaluation results¶

I enjoyed working with this group. It was a high pace. We were productive. We even had some fun.

I had one colleague that I said to treat as a regular learner, but I failed: I did treat him like something between TA and learner. At the end of the day (see below), we discussed this. We both failed and agreed: I treated him as an in-between learner-and-TA, and he behaved as an in-between learner-and-TA. We also agreed that this was the right call.

I missed being helped the first hour, although there were some colleagues available. I did not ask for help, because I felt I had talked too much: it was at 9:17 that we started doing exercises. At 9:17, I could have set them to work, but I did not feel the need either. Next time, encourage them to be absent. Sure, they are always welcome, but I will manage :-)

[ ] Encourage colleagues to be absent

One group of 3 ended up in, indeed, 2 people being active and 1 being passive. I have seen this. So I looked for a group that the passive learner would fit into, but could not find such a group. One reason is that I did not know which HPC cluster the learner used.

[ ] Let learners add the cluster name to their Zoom name, else write it down

I cannot keep up a full day. And I think that helps us understand what the learners feel. But, I did feel uncomfortable with my later material

[ ] Make the later material Good

I let them go earlier, as this was the fastest group ever.

[ ] Add more material, see below

I should add more HPC, i.e. using Python package modules: the course felt too Python-heavy. I am not against being Python-heavy, but the course is called 'NAISS Intro to Python', implying the use for HPC.

[ ] Show better when HPC is done and Python-only starts

For the material, I feel I should add if-statements and for-loops: those are more basic concepts. Also, I feel I should remove function, as this is beyond the scope of the Python in this course (i.e. 'Be able to write simple Python scripts').

[ ] Add 'Be able to write simple Python scripts' as the goal of the Python-only part

I had the idea to, for next time, add the HPC cluster name behind everyone's name, e.g. Richel (Rackham). I already (the day after) did this: learners can change their name themselves.

[ ] Let the learners change their name to add their HPC cluster
[ ] Add Python package modules

Feedback Linus¶

What went well?
- All students went through all of the important things
  - RB: definitely!
- Sending more advanced Python students home was a good thing; they came there for the HPC part
  - RB: agree
- Exercises and material is very good
What are features of the course?
- Some learners get lost in the book (it's a good book), doing exercises on their own
What could be improved?
- Students that already know Python could be sent back home earlier
  - RB: agree, at 11:00 we could let the first people go :-)
- Some learners do the exercises in the book and then forget about the course material.
  - RB: agree: remove the mention of the exercises in the book and sent them to the exercises in the course material (only)