Labs schedule, staff, and expectations

Lab Expectations

Labs are a required and graded component of CS231. Students must attend one lab section each week.

Regardless of which lab section a student attends, they should always arrive prepared to complete assessments and graded work. Labs may include both individual and collaborative activities. It is the student’s responsibility to understand which tasks are individual and which permit collaboration.

Typical Lab Structure

Most lab sessions follow the structure outlined below. Exact timing and activities may vary slightly from week to week, but the overall rhythm will remain consistent.

1. Project Reflection Quiz (≈ 25 minutes)
   Labs will usually begin with a short Moodle quiz based on the previous week’s project. This quiz assesses understanding of key concepts and critical implementation details.
2. Guided Lab Activities (≈ 45 minutes)
   Students work through guided lab activities designed to prepare them for the upcoming project. Activities emphasize debugging and testing, tracing code execution, algorithmic reasoning, and communication (written and discussion-based).
3. Project Overview (≈ 15 minutes)
   The project is introduced and the relevant data structure is discussed.
4. Lab Check-Point (≈ 60 minutes)
   
   Note: The purpose of the lab checkpoint is to help you get unstuck early and start the project correctly.
   Students work on implementing the data structure necessary for the current project. Check-points are completed via Moodle, a testing harness, or if applicable by showing working code to the instructor or a lab TA.
5. Project Released
   During this part of lab, the project files are released. Students may either remain in lab and begin working on the project or leave.