CS 3212: Algorithms

Former students tell us that the Fall semester of the junior year is among the harder semesters, a sharp jump from the sophomore year. One reason is that most students are enrolled in the Algorithms and OS, each of which are challenging and important in their own right. Sometimes, this can lead to difficulties with time management and work commitment.

The worst possible outcome is to be tired, rushed for time, and to resign yourself to substandard work.

The forthcoming challenge is a great opportunity to work on a few skills that will last a lifetime. So, instead of telling yourself that "you just need to get through this semester", tell yourself that "this semester will build successful work-habit skills for the future," by addressing these problems:

• Break the googling/AI habit. Do you find yourself doing a search as one of the first steps in working on a homework? Research shows that an "always on" culture leads to short cuts, short term thinking, and shorter attention spans. Yet, a key goal in this course is to develop algorithmic thinking, which requires struggling with ideas in the absence of a screen. So, how far are you willing to go in breaking the googling habit?

• Get control over your time. Have you taken a hard look at how you spend time? Do you work in short bursts, switching between homework while being on social media, while also having the TV/twitch/spotify/something-else on? When you know you've wasted time, where does it go?

• Strengthen critical decision-making. There are always good/fun/important things to do in lieu of going the extra mile on a homework. It's really easy to say "I didn't come to GW just to do homework; OK, I've done enough, I've earned the right spend time on X now", or to say "I'm not planning on being a coder, so I just need to pass this course; I'll do X now". And the X is often an equally good experience. So, you are always caught in bind regarding your own commitments. Are you willing to learn the value of making short-term (one semester) sacrifices, even to sacrifice the good X activities?

• Revel in hard-won victories. What should be clear is that N years from now, your course grades won't matter at all. In fact, they may not matter a year after graduation (unless you are planning on another degree). What will matter and what you will carry with you is confidence in your own ability to challenge yourself - and this is where your experience now will help you in the future. Thus, instead of "glad I somehow got through the semester", your goal at the end of the semester should be "Looking back, I'm glad I'm stronger now than when I started".

Is this easier said than done? Is this something that vaguely sounds good but starts slipping away in the crush of the semester? How does one deliberately go about getting to that next level?