Logistics

Important Links

Grading

This class will involve a fair amount of discussion and unstructured studio time, in addition to traditional lectures, in-class activities, student presentations, and group critiques. Grades will reflect performance on assignments, team projects, and class participation.

Students are expected to arrive to class on time, participate during in-class activities and discussions, and be a good team member. Arriving more than 15 minutes after the start of class will be count as an absence. As a show of respect to fellow students, laptops and mobile phones should remain off unless the instructor explicitly permits them for class activities. If students must miss class for an excusable reason, let the TAs know IN ADVANCE and keep teammates informed. More than two absences can affect your grade.

Grading breakdown:

  • 5% A1 (Search and share insights)
  • 5% A2 (Find and discuss data)
  • 10% A3 (Conduct field research)
  • 10% A4 (Write problem reports)
  • 15% A5-A6 (Midterm: storyboarding and preliminary proposal)
  • 40% A7-A11 (Final: team submission with poster, video, and online portfolio)
  • 15% Overall participation

Assignments 1 and 2 will be performed individually. Assignments 3 and 4 will be done in pairs. From assignment 5 on, students will work in teams of 4-5 people. The overall participation grade will take into account attendance, reading reflections, in-class contributions, and team peer evaluations.

Late Assignments (not allowed)

It is vitally important to keep up with course assignments and discussions in order to participate fully. For instance, if you are late doing a reading, it means that you’ll be unprepared for lecture and discussion in class. Therefore, late assignments will not be accepted without a doctor’s note.

References and Cheating

In all your work in this class, you should utilize and cite any sources of information you can: search results, news sources, scholarly papers, personal contacts, and outside faculty. Acknowledge them with specific footnotes or hyperlinks. Specify each source well enough that a reader can find it. We will reward you for using sources of help and penalize you for using none. If you cut and paste content from elsewhere, use quotation marks and footnote. Not acknowledging your citations is an ethical failure, but failing to seek help limits your effectiveness.

Should any student be found guilty of cheating on an assignment, the University will be notified. Additionally, depending on the circumstances, and at the discretion of the instructor and the Department Head, a student could fail the course and may be expelled from the University. A student can appeal any faculty decision to the UC San Diego Academic Senate.

Special Needs

If you are will be missing class for religious reasons, let us know during the first week of class and it will not be penalized. If you have a disability and wish to request an accommodation, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities. We will be happy to work with you to support your success in the class.

Time Allocation

As a rough weekly time allocation, students should dedicate 2-3 hours for reading and 2-3 hours for assignments each week. You might might need additional time for the midterm and final project work. Week 10 will be devoted to in-class critique and preparation for the final showcase.