Getting help

We know things can get rough, and we are here to help and support you.

You can ask questions and seek help by posting to our discussion board or reaching out directly to teaching staff, on the discussion board, or during office hours.

In addition, every student starts the term with 3 "clue" (💡, 💡, 💡) and 3 "debugging" tokens (🐛, 🐛, 🐛).

The use of tokens promotes judicious and equitable use of help. Constraining help will make you a more confident and self-reliant problem solver. Empowering you to work independently is of great interest in this class.

If you experience hardship (more than what could be considered a healthy challenge) for any homework, please consider using clue or debugging tokens. If you are out of tokens, you may reach out to the instructor and ask for extra tokens. The instructor will accommodate such requests on a case-by-case basis. Moreover, the instructor will try to help you revise your study habits/strategies to become more self-sufficient.

Please note that you are responsible for tracking your token usage. We will track your budget too.

💡 Clue Token

You can use a clue token to get a hint when you are stuck on solving a problem. Here are a few examples of what clue tokens can be used for:

• You get a failing auto-test on Gradescope, and you are unable to resolve the issue however much you try. You can spend a clue token to learn more about the test.

• There are tasks in each homework that you are asked to work on without the help of the teaching staff. You can use your clue tokens to get around this policy. That is, you can ask for a hint (where you were told not to ask for it) from a teaching staff by spending a clue token.

Please note:

• Clue tokens can be used through a "private" post on the course discussion board or during office hours. You need to express your intention of using your token.
• If you spend your clue token on an auto-test, we will not show you the test. Instead, we will tell you what the test is doing. Our description will be more detailed than what is offered on Gradescope, yet not as specific as revealing test values, for instance.
• We cannot guarantee the clue you will receive in exchange for your token will help you achieve what you intended it for. In such a case, you may not ask to "get back" a clue token.
• You may use all your clue tokens for an assignment, but we recommend that you don't. Clue tokens are a valuable commodity, and you should use them sparingly.

🐛 Debugging Token

Each debugging token gives you a 30-minutes one-on-one debugging session with a teaching staff member. During a debugging session, teaching staff will assist you in debugging your code.

Please note:

• We won't debug your code; we help you do it on your own.
• We cannot guarantee you will find and fix the error in your code during a debugging session. In such a case, you may not ask to "get back" your debugging token.
• The goal of the session is to help you develop and hone your debugging skills.
• Debugging sessions need to be booked in advance and are subject to availability.
• You may use all your debugging tokens for an assignment, but you should not book debugging sessions back to back.
• We recommend that you don't use all your debugging tokens for one assignment. Debugging tokens are a valuable commodity, and you should use them sparingly.