The major components of the course are outlined below.
An important component of this class will be weekly structured laboratory sessions in which you work on prepared activities with the instructor present. Your lab is scheduled from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Section 1) or 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Section 2). In lab, concepts discussed in class will be practiced and new concepts will often be introduced. You should view your time in lab not as a chore, but as an opportunity to explore, make mistakes, ask questions and ultimately acquire a firm grasp of the subject matter. You should always be prepared for lab ahead of time. This means reading over the background material and assignments prior to the lab session. Labs will be a much more efficient and rewarding experience if you come prepared.
Closely related to lab activities, there will be a series of problem sets to be completed outside of lab. These may take several forms, including written answers to questions, presentation of results from small data mining experiments using WEKA and other tools, working problems involving various mining algorithms, etc.
Other problems relating to the course material (from the textbook and other sources) will also be assigned periodically.
To further enhance our study of data mining, we will engage in several discussions regarding the application of data mining to timely, real-world problems. Some of these will result from readings in the Uncharted text. Some will be closely connected to a data mining news journal maintained by the class on our Moodle page. Participation in these discussions is expected, and considered to be an important component of the class.
Throughout the semester, students will apply new concepts and skills to the development of a significant knowledge discovery project, to be related to human behavior and completed in a series of phases. Each phase will be represented as an assignment for which a tangible product is to be submitted for evaluation. These include a written project proposal, a dataset, a written final report, and a final presentation. This project will be completed in teams of no more than three students, and will be on a topic that you select yourself.
| Strategy A | Strategy B | |
|---|---|---|
| Three Lecture Exams | 35% | 30% |
| Laboratory and Homework Assignments | 20% | 20% |
| Class Discussion and Presentation | 5% | 5% |
| Term Project | 15% | 15% |
| Cumulative Final Exam | 25% | 30% |
As some students will learn the course concepts more rapidly than others, two grading options are provided to maximize grading fairness. If your average grade for the midterm exam and quizzes is higher than your final exam grade, strategy A will be used. If your final exam is higher then strategy B will be used.
| Score | Grade |
|---|---|
| Discretion of instructor | A+ |
| 93-100 | A |
| 90-92.99 | A- |
| 87-89.99 | B+ |
| 83-86.99 | B |
| 80-82.99 | B- |
| 77-79.99 | C+ |
| 73-76.99 | C |
| 70-72.99 | C- |
| 67-69.99 | D+ |
| 63-66.99 | D |
| 60-62.99 | D- |
| less than 60 | F |
Regular attendance at both lectures and labs is essential and expected. You should arrange to get notes and assignments if an absence is necessary. Due dates will not be extended because of an absence unless (1) arrangements are made in advance, or (2) the absence was unexpected and (verifiably) unavoidable. Accommodations for a missed test will be made only in extraordinary circumstances of serious illness or other emergencies. These situations must be documented in writing, and notice must be given prior to the test. In the case of illness, confirmation of the necessity of the absence from a professional at the Earle Student Health Center is mandatory.
In addition to regular attendance, it is expected that you will be punctual, will complete reading and other assignments, and substantively and respectfully engage in discussion. In other words, the same things are expected of you in this class that will eventually be expected of you in the workforce. Sleeping, doing other work, leaving the room, or other obvious lack of engagement in class will result in a penalty to your homework grade. IF YOU ARE TEXTING OR PLAYING ON YOUR PHONE OR COMPUTER IN CLASS YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE, with a penalty accrued to you class discussion grade.
Due dates for assignments will be extended only under extraordinary circumstances.