Early Feedback and Grading
Grading depends on the specific lab exercise and is explained in the associated parts of the guide, but is generally based on:
- Your code
- Your report
Additionally, there is a potential oral exam based on the grade of a quiz at the end of the course (more about this at the end of this section).
All your code must be incrementally updated on GitHub Classroom. The reports are
also stored in your repository as the README.md. At some point, the deadline
will expire, and you will not be able to update your code and report. As
explained previously, the code on the master branch will be graded.
We strive for a course where it is clear to you how you are doing before handing in your project for grading, as well as making it clear how you are graded. In this way, we do not have to rely on resits in our quest to achieve the learning objectives, but will provide feedback much earlier, before handing in your assignment for grading. Thus, this lab knows no resit (this is also only required by the examination rules for written exams).
There are two mechanisms by which you can obtain early feedback about your work.
a. Each lab will have an associated Rubric, which is like a table with indicators for specific grades in specific parts of the assignment, that are related to the learning objectives of this course.
b. You can ask the TAs during the lab for feedback on your code or your report, after you have looked at the rubric and/or if you have specific questions.
Therefore, by spending the required amount of time to learn, using the Rubric to reflect on your own work, and by asking questions during the lab, it is incredibly unlikely that you will fail this course. At the same time, do remember that programming experience is a prerequisite for this course. We unfortunately do not have time to teach you how to program.
Regarding the oral exam, there is a possibility that some group members do not contribute to achieving the lab goals, in turn causing them to not achieve the learning objectives (sometimes called freeloaders). Because the TU Delft strives to deliver Masters of Science of the highest quality, we must ensure that all students that pass this course have achieved the learning objectives. To this end, in one of the final weeks of the course, a multiple-choice quiz will take place that is incredibly easy to pass if you achieved all learning goals through the lab. If you do not pass (there will be a specific threshold), you are invited to an oral examination where we will discuss the implementation of the code. Based on this, we will determine a grade multiplier between zero and one. Thus, make sure you understand every detail of the code your group may produce. The quiz will be performed on Brightspace during a lecture slot. An example of quiz questions is found here.
Regarding plagiarism
All rules of the TU Delft and master program regarding plagiarism apply. It's fine to copy little pieces of code that you understand from e.g. StackOverflow, to build up your own desired functionality around it. It is definitely not allowed to copy portions or the whole solution from other students. If you did that, you wouldn't be achieving the learning objectives!
Additionally, DO NOT make your code publicly available by e.g. forking or copying your repository publicly. The examination rules of the Delft University of Technology explain that even though perhaps you wrote the code yourself, making it publicly available makes you a potential accomplice to plagiarism and you may receive the same punishment as whoever copied it from you. We repeat: DO NOT make your code publicly available.