CSE383M (65280) and CS395T (53715), Spring 2014:

Welcome to the course! The instructor is Professor William Press (Bill), and the TA is Jeff Hussmann (Jeff). We meet Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. in CBA 4.344 with Bill, and Fridays, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. in CBA 4.348 with Jeff. The course is aimed at first or second year graduate students, especially in the CSEM, CS, and ECE programs, but others are welcome. You’ll need math at the level of at least 2nd year calculus, plus linear algebra, plus either more continuous math (e.g., CSEM students) or more discrete math (e.g., CS and ECE students). You’ll also need to be able to program in some known computer language.

Mechanics of the Course

The last two years, we have tried the experiment of a “flipped” course. This has worked so well that we are doing this again this year. “Flipped” means that the lectures are all on the web as recorded webcasts. You must watch the assigned webcasts before the class for which they are scheduled; maybe watch them more than once if there are parts that you don’t easily understand. Then, you will be ready for the active learning that we do in class. The class activities will not “cover the material”. Rather, class is supposed to be for “aha moments” and for “fixing” the material in your learning memory. We’ll thus do various kinds of “active learning” activities that will test and improve your understanding of the material in the lecture. Such in-class activities, often done in randomized groups of two or three, may include