What is a DUET session?

A DUET (Demo, Understand, Eexperiment, and Theory) session is a series of short low-pressure collaborations with several members of course staff! These are a chance for you to share what you have learned and accomplished over the course of writing a solution to the project!

The above may seem a little abstract right now, but we promise DUETs will become clearer as you continue reading the document and do a DUET!

Demo, Understand, Experiment

Each segment of the DUET is intended to exercise a different part of your “computational brain”.

The Demo component will allow you to show off the final product that you worked on to an audience.

The Understand component will stretch you to explain the higher-level ideas in your code (rather than the individual lines). This is a super important part of collaboration when working on code with a team.

The Experiment component will ask you to re-imagine what might happen if your code were somehow slightly different. To engage your computational thinking skills, we will ask you to make a guess before looking at the actual result, and we’ll work through any differences. This form of experimentation has been shown in various educational research to significantly improve learners’ conceptual understanding of higher-order concepts.

The Theory component will ask you to justify your program or algorithm’s correctness or runtime. We won’t ask for full proofs, but you will need to convince the staff that you know why it works.

Expectations

We do not expect you to understand every single line of code in a lab or project. However, we expect that you understand what you did during the lab or project. For more information, please see: “Why do we have DUETs” .

Due to the limited number of course staff hours, each section of the DUET will be timed. However, course staff will work closely with you during the four sections. Remember, DUET sessions are meant to be low-stakes, so we expect everyone who shows up for a DUET to pass despite the time limit in each section . If you are unable to make a DUET in the times offered, or if extenuating circumstances exist, you may be offered a chance to do a “reDUET”. Remember, our goal is to help you learn!

For more information about the timing of DUETS, see: “When do DUETs happen?”.

You can expect each DUET session to average around 12 minutes.

You must sign up for and complete a DUET session to receive a grade for any lab or project with DUETs. You must sign up for the section that you are scheduled for on regis.

Why do we have DUETs?

DUETs are designed to give you opportunities to take ownership of your own curiosity and learning! We hope to show you that your work produced something. We hope to help you learn to confidently explain your own thoughts. And lastly, we hope you to feel encouraged to explore and play around with ideas and edge cases that you may not have before.

When do DUETs happen?

DUET sessions occur after the deadline of a project or lab.

You can sign up for a DUET session using a link provided at the end of each lab or project’s guide. As a reminder, you must sign up for the section that you are scheduled for on regis.

Where are DUET sessions?

All DUET sessions will be held in CS^2==ANB 106 unless otherwise stated by course leadership. CS^2==ANB 106 is also where office hours are held.

How do DUET sessions work?

Before going into your DUET session, please bring your laptop and any other related materials!

When you walk into CS^2 for your DUET, a course staff in charge of the first section of the DUET will greet and work with you through the section. Then you will enter CS^2 and enqueue for the next section of the DUET. Each DUET section’s TA will let you know which section to enqueue for next!

During any section of the DUET, you may find yourself struggling and that is okay! We know that thinking under time pressure even in a low-stakes environment can be daunting and difficult. Course staff will try their best to help guide you through the DUET with the time limit, and if you need more help beyond the time limit, a member from course leadership such as the head TA or professor(s) will work with you through the DUET so that you can achieve the learning outcomes!

Remember, our goal is to help you take ownership of your own learning and curiosity, not to fail you!

How can I prepare for my DUET session?

Similar to our suggestions for quiz prep, we recommend that you understand the code that you have written for both labs and projects! Please come to office hours if you need any help.