tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post7522568452552466744..comments2024-03-10T05:26:42.148-04:00Comments on My Biased Coin: Teaching Time ConflictsMichael Mitzenmacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06738274256402616703noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-19906307103721343852010-07-27T14:32:30.072-04:002010-07-27T14:32:30.072-04:00Can you elaborate on the MWF thing? I can't re...Can you elaborate on the MWF thing? I can't remember having a class listed as MWF that actually met three times a week - I recall them being listed as MW(F) in the course directory...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-23313642116062987002010-07-27T07:27:57.885-04:002010-07-27T07:27:57.885-04:00Put students first. How well do you know their go...Put students first. How well do you know their goals and conflicts? Your best idea is that intro classes should get priority. Some undergrads have sports or labs (like bio) in the afternoon, so it makes sense that grad courses go later in the day. Grad students are more sympathetic if a professor disappears to a conference. I remember when 9am MWF seemed "too early." Now I laugh at that notion: after college I spent 10 years 7 days a week on the water at 6am, which was formative. Find out how MIT handles scheduling, since they have such a large number of EECS classes you couldn't take them all if you stayed 20 years.Geoff Knauthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12025560607512616605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-4098013439139384682010-07-27T04:13:36.855-04:002010-07-27T04:13:36.855-04:00I faced this many years ago when we had a similar ...I faced this many years ago when we had a similar mess (the university scheduling office had randomly assigned them one term). The first easy idea was to look at prerequisite chains and schedule classes in the same chain at the same time, which guarantees no conflicts. (Though it can prevent faculty in an area covering for each other.) I ended up with half a dozen chains at the undergrad level and it was easy enough to fit them in (as MWF classes plus possible sections on other days). Capstone courses would be TTh. We have less structure now, though. <br /><br />For core grad classes we did a standard tiling of the best pairs of 1.5 hour time slots each week and just fill them each term so none conflict. This uses M-Th but Friday is free. If we want to run two at the same time we just poll students. <br /><br />In general the schedule defaults to what it was the previous year but we give younger and grumpier faculty chance to change time slots.Paul Beamenoreply@blogger.com