University of Illinois ECE 310

There will be no homework that is to be turned in and graded this semester. Weekly problem sets that cover the concepts for each week will be provided on the course website for your use in learning the concepts covered that week. Included will also be solutions to these problems. However, it is in your best interest to hold off from looking over the solutions until after you have had a chance to try the problems on your own. The concepts in this course are best learned by actively doing them, rather than passively reading them.

This semester we will use a method for developing and mastering each of the concepts in the course that is likely to be different from other courses you have taken at Illinois or perhaps elsewhere. Each week, we will post a list of concepts that will be covered in the lectures during that week. We will also post some homework questions that can be used to practice, develop, and master these concepts. These homework problems will not be turned in to be graded. Rather, it will be your responsibility to learn, master, and then demonstrate your mastery of these concepts by attending the TA recitation sessions or in lecture during problem solving sessions, or during your own time with other students outside of class. Prior to coming to be checked off, you will find someone who has already mastered the concept that you wish to master and ask them to help teach this concept to you, either through discussing the homework problems that address these concepts, or through other examples from the lecture notes or other course materials or texts. Once you have sufficiently mastered the concept, and demonstrated your mastery of it to one of the TAs or another student who has been attained the level of expert, in the topic, then you are able to teach this concept to others in the course. After you have successfully mastered the topic, if you wish to be elevated to the level of expert, you will need to discuss the concept with one of the instructors or TA's during problem solving sessions to see if you can successfully make the transition from novice, to master, to EXPERT. You will receive credit for both mastering the concept as well as teaching the concept to other students. When you are checked off by the TA or a student expert for a given concept, the TA will ask you if you have learned this concept from another student in the course. The TA's will maintain a roster of those who have mastered the concepts, so that when you have mastered one concept and wish to learn another, you can find the names of students in the course who have mastered the next concept. Of course you can learn the concepts without another student if you wish, but then you lose out on all of the fun. Who will be EXPERT in the most concepts? Who will MASTER the whole concept list first? We shall see...