The CIS 110 teaching staff works very hard to provide as much support as we can for the students of the course. Below, we’ve outlined the best ways to seek out help in the course.
Piazza is a Q&A forum which is religiously maintained by the TA staff. Should a question emerge while you are working on assignments, studying for exams, or have general questions in computer science, piazza is a quick and sure way to get a response from a member of the course staff very quickly (typically < 3 minutes.)
Because of how heavily we monitor piazza, we ask that students do not email TAs or professors directly for normal cases.
The TA staff holds office hours every Monday-Thursday from 3-9PM and 3-9AM so that we can cover all timezones globally. We hold our office hours through OHQ, a resource created by Penn students. Almost every CIS 110 student takes advantage of our office hours, and those who do not often do not perform as well in the course or spend more time than necessary on the homework assignments. We are here to guide you and teach you to think algorithmically, but we are not here to give away any answers.
Sunday Review Sessions are held on most Sunday evenings throughout the semester. These review sessions are held by TAs and will focus on topics covered in lecture and recitation from the previous week. Sessions will feature a worksheet completed in small groups and TAs will give short lecture-style review upon student request. Multiple TAs will be present to answer specific questions regarding the worksheet and related topics. This is a great opportunity to solidify your understanding of course material and get comfortable with exam-style questions.
Homework questions will not be answered during Sunday Review Sessions. If you need homework help over the weekend, please post on Piazza.
The tutoring centor at Penn is another great way to get help in the course. Tutors are instructed to not help students with the homework assignments, but can help with conceptual understanding if you’re looking for extra reinforcement of the material.
In private matters that cannot be posted on piazza, please email the head staff.