BSOS233 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Jacob Coutts BSOS233 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2024	Dr. Coutts is a nice guy but he tended to come late to class. However, the class structure was very organized, which I appreciated. Each week there was a mini quiz that you got 2 attempts on. There was also a lab due each week, but we went over the answers in lab, so I recommend showing up. There was one midterm, a final project, and a couple of other assignments throughout the semester. The lectures were a little monotonous and not super related to the labs. This class might be a little confusing if it's your first exposure to programming, but if you pay attention to the lectures and especially the LABS, you'll be fine. He also drops your lowest grade for the quizzes, labs, and assignments. Workload wasn't too bad.
Jacob Coutts BSOS233 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2024	Dr. J is a great instructor with a kind of dry humor that really makes the class enjoyable. He genuinely cares about his students' learning and values feedback, which is something I really appreciate. He offers generous dropped assignments and fair grading, which helps alleviate some of the pressure. His in-lecture teaching is honestly much more effective than the textbook. He explains concepts very clearly, and while the slides are posted online, they are much more useful when accompanied by his lectures, especially since some classes are heavy on live coding. One thing I truly respect is that after the election, Dr. J made class virtual and recorded it. He also made lab virtual (which isn’t required to attend in-person). This shows that he understands the stress students are under and cares about their mental health. The content itself wasn't too challenging, but I highly recommend reading the assigned text (which is free and online). In terms of workload, the "Assignments" can take a long time due to their many components. I would recommend looking ahead to see how they align with the lab content, as one assignment might cover material from multiple labs. Doing the labs in-person is more time-efficient than doing them on your own, as the TA walks you through each step. The "reading quizzes" are low-stakes and easy, and you get two tries, which is great. The midterm, however, was a bit tricky. It was online and all multiple choice, but I felt underprepared because the study guide was somewhat sparse. The final project was very time-consuming, involving a lot of coding and analysis, but as with the assignments, reviewing the labs can help, as you can use the code/concepts directly for the project. Overall, Dr. J’s class was a positive experience, and his teaching style really supports student success.
Hansol Kwak BSOS233 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/14/2024	Very helpful and approachable. He did not lecture much, but was the instructor for lab sessions. I was able to understand the practical applications of the coding content thanks to his labs, despite having limited previous experience. He is friendly and very good at communicating office hours and assignment feedback.
Brian Kim BSOS233 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/28/2022	Pretty great professor. Provides you with everything you need to pass. Goes over all the labs in class, in depth so you can understand it. The assignments are straight out of the textbook, and everything is fairly graded. He gives great feedback if you lose points on something. Overall, really chill class if you attend the lectures. If you skip a day, you're kind of on your own to figure stuff out as he doesn't record his online lectures.

Jacob Coutts
BSOS233

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/18/2024

Dr. Coutts is a nice guy but he tended to come late to class. However, the class structure was very organized, which I appreciated. Each week there was a mini quiz that you got 2 attempts on. There was also a lab due each week, but we went over the answers in lab, so I recommend showing up. There was one midterm, a final project, and a couple of other assignments throughout the semester. The lectures were a little monotonous and not super related to the labs. This class might be a little confusing if it's your first exposure to programming, but if you pay attention to the lectures and especially the LABS, you'll be fine. He also drops your lowest grade for the quizzes, labs, and assignments. Workload wasn't too bad.

Jacob Coutts
BSOS233

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/17/2024

Dr. J is a great instructor with a kind of dry humor that really makes the class enjoyable. He genuinely cares about his students' learning and values feedback, which is something I really appreciate. He offers generous dropped assignments and fair grading, which helps alleviate some of the pressure. His in-lecture teaching is honestly much more effective than the textbook. He explains concepts very clearly, and while the slides are posted online, they are much more useful when accompanied by his lectures, especially since some classes are heavy on live coding. One thing I truly respect is that after the election, Dr. J made class virtual and recorded it. He also made lab virtual (which isn’t required to attend in-person). This shows that he understands the stress students are under and cares about their mental health. The content itself wasn't too challenging, but I highly recommend reading the assigned text (which is free and online). In terms of workload, the "Assignments" can take a long time due to their many components. I would recommend looking ahead to see how they align with the lab content, as one assignment might cover material from multiple labs. Doing the labs in-person is more time-efficient than doing them on your own, as the TA walks you through each step. The "reading quizzes" are low-stakes and easy, and you get two tries, which is great. The midterm, however, was a bit tricky. It was online and all multiple choice, but I felt underprepared because the study guide was somewhat sparse. The final project was very time-consuming, involving a lot of coding and analysis, but as with the assignments, reviewing the labs can help, as you can use the code/concepts directly for the project. Overall, Dr. J’s class was a positive experience, and his teaching style really supports student success.

Hansol Kwak
BSOS233

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/14/2024

Very helpful and approachable. He did not lecture much, but was the instructor for lab sessions. I was able to understand the practical applications of the coding content thanks to his labs, despite having limited previous experience. He is friendly and very good at communicating office hours and assignment feedback.

Brian Kim
BSOS233

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/28/2022

Pretty great professor. Provides you with everything you need to pass. Goes over all the labs in class, in depth so you can understand it. The assignments are straight out of the textbook, and everything is fairly graded. He gives great feedback if you lose points on something. Overall, really chill class if you attend the lectures. If you skip a day, you're kind of on your own to figure stuff out as he doesn't record his online lectures.

Reviews for BSOS233