Grading malloclabs
So I'm a 213 TA. This semester, at my and a number of other TAs' insistence, we've been inking some of the labs in addition to simply giving out style points, reminiscent of how it's done in 410. I'm really happy about this, as I think it's the best service we're doing for the students to prepare them for whatever courses that may lie ahead of them (also, it's some of the most enjoyable work I've had this semester).
Sometimes I come across a student (or partnership as the case may be) whose work is just extremely gratifying to review. Well-documented, well-designed code is really wonderful... if I'm browsing through your code, and at any point I could tell exactly what the point of some block is, or where it's going to go next, then you know you've done something right. The first malloc I graded was like this.
On the other hand, the occasional student doesn't seem to grasp that anybody is ever going to care about their code after they turn it in and see the mindless autograder say "beep beep your performance grade is 100% beep". Looking over it I can tell there was thought put into the program itself, but I can't imagine any effort or pride on the student's part put into how their code looks and feels overall. Getting through these is just unpleasant, and I find myself after a while expecting whatever's coming next to be yet another mockery of design or documentation; I end up writing comments in allcaps with underlines and exclamation points, wishing I had a pen that drew its ink from my bloodstream if I would press it hard enough.
This whole inking process is supposed to help the students, and I wonder occasionally how much it's doing for those who actually need it. Sometimes it's a genuine pleasure to deal with students, and sometimes, well, a little bit less so. Personally, I really enjoy classes like 213: interesting, well-run (mostly...); they're something I can enjoy and be passionate about. I wonder if for some people it's just that they don't care about the subject enough to give enough of themselves to it... I hope everybody has at least something to care that much about.
Sometimes I come across a student (or partnership as the case may be) whose work is just extremely gratifying to review. Well-documented, well-designed code is really wonderful... if I'm browsing through your code, and at any point I could tell exactly what the point of some block is, or where it's going to go next, then you know you've done something right. The first malloc I graded was like this.
On the other hand, the occasional student doesn't seem to grasp that anybody is ever going to care about their code after they turn it in and see the mindless autograder say "beep beep your performance grade is 100% beep". Looking over it I can tell there was thought put into the program itself, but I can't imagine any effort or pride on the student's part put into how their code looks and feels overall. Getting through these is just unpleasant, and I find myself after a while expecting whatever's coming next to be yet another mockery of design or documentation; I end up writing comments in allcaps with underlines and exclamation points, wishing I had a pen that drew its ink from my bloodstream if I would press it hard enough.
This whole inking process is supposed to help the students, and I wonder occasionally how much it's doing for those who actually need it. Sometimes it's a genuine pleasure to deal with students, and sometimes, well, a little bit less so. Personally, I really enjoy classes like 213: interesting, well-run (mostly...); they're something I can enjoy and be passionate about. I wonder if for some people it's just that they don't care about the subject enough to give enough of themselves to it... I hope everybody has at least something to care that much about.