Section

Each week, you’ll meet for about an hour in a small discussion section. Each discussion section will be led by your assigned section leader, who will act as your mentor, grader, and personal connection to the greater CS106B course staff. Your section leader will help you review the material that has been introduced in lecture, explore topics in more depth, and generally answer any questions that you may have.

For every section, there will be a handout of section problems focusing on the material from that week of lecture. These section problems are designed to give you extra practice with the course material. You’re not expected to complete these problems before attending section, and we won’t be grading them for credit. Instead, think of them as a resource you can use to practice with the material as you see fit. You’re not expected to cover all the problems in a given handout during section, so we strongly recommend using the problems you didn’t complete as extra practice. Solutions will be released to all section problems every Friday evening after all sections have been completed.

Attendance and participation in section will be mandatory for all students. Your section leader will be grading your participation in section on a weekly basis, and these grades will make up 10% of your final grade. Participation in section can take many forms, including asking questions, contributing answers, and participating in discussions with fellow students. We will be providing section times that run from 8:30am to 8:30pm PDT, so we are hopeful that all students will be able to find a section time that works for them. If you have concerns about your ability to attend or participate in section, due to any factor (time zone, technological barriers, etc.), please email Nick (nbowman@stanford.edu), and he can work with you to arrange necessary accommodations.

Common questions about sections

How do I sign up for section?

Section signups will be conducted on the CS198 website. Section signups will open on Sunday, June 21 at 5pm PDT and will close on Tuesday, June 23 at 5pm PDT. Unlike Hamilton tickets, section sign-ups are not first-come first-serve, so don't worry about rushing to fill out your preferences as soon as the form opens – just make sure to submit your preferences before the window closes! After a matching process, your section assignments will be emailed out to you by the morning of Wednesday, June 24. Sections begin the first week of classes. Note that you should only sign up for sections at the URL indicated previously (you should not sign-up for sections on Axess).

Is section attendance mandatory?

Yes, attendance and participation in section will be graded and will make up 10% of your final grade in the class. We expect that students will regularly attend section and participate with a high level of engagement. If you have concerns about this policy as it related to your personal situation, please email Nick.

How will section participation be graded?

Section participation will be graded every week on a scale from 0 to 2. The grades will be assigned as follows:

• 2 : Showed up to section on time, followed section norms, participated in an engaged manner
• 1 : Showed up to section late, minimal participation
• 0 : Did not show up to section, or did not follow established section norms and policies

Where can I find the section problems? Where can I find the solutions?

The section problems will be posted on the course website under the "Sections" tab of the navigation bar at the beginning of every week. At the end of every week (on Friday evening), the section handout will be updated with the solutions.

What tools will I need for section? Is there anything I need to set up or know going in?

Similar to lectures, section will be conducted virtually over Zoom. You can find your assigned section time and Zoom meeting information on Paperless. Folks within the CS198 program have put together this very helpful Guide to Section for Students – make sure to check that out for section tips and FAQs!

Where can I find my section Zoom information?

You can find the Zoom information for your assigned section on Paperless.

What should I do if I miss one of my sections?

If you miss your section in a given week, you can attend another section that week to makeup your absence. Make sure to let the section leader whose section you attend know that you're there. That way, they can let your section leader know that you went to an alternate section for the week. A list of all section times (and corresponding Zoom information for each section) can be found on this page.