Learning Outcomes and Evaluation#
This course has goals with respect to the knowledge and research skills.
Evaluation will be with respect to each of the outcomes and based on a level of mastery: general awareness, competency, or mastery.
By the end of the course students will be able to:
Critique common ways that social or scientific applications of ML require violating ML algorithm assumptions and ways to mitigate or adapt.
Evaluate ML Research papers for their applicability to scientific and social applications of ML.
Communicate about ML and its limitations work to varied audiences
Apply ML to scientific and social data responsibly
Use of AI#
All work submitted in this course must be of quality and form expected for research publication.
All work must adhere to the ACM Policy on Authorship
All work must be clear, concise, and include appropriate citations.
Activities#
reading and evaluating ML research papers
facilitating and participating in class discussions of the papers
coproducing notes that summarized key points and open questions of papers
producing a replication, demo, or illustration of one concept covered for a broader audience
completing a project using ML in a scientific or social domain
writing a CS conference style (short & concise) final paper on the project
Evaluation#
The following describes each activity in the course and the specification for it. These specifications define how to get an A. As each milestone approaches, more detailed information about evaluation will be provided as appropriate.
Discussions, Exercises, and Notes (20%)#
For each topic we cover in class, you should engage fully in the class discussion and practice exercises that are provided if applicable.
To demonstrate engagement you must:
provide a good faith attempt at any exercises provided
contribute to the discussion (comments and questions both count)
contribute to annotated class notes
Each class session will be evaluated on if you contribute to discussion or not. This includes both asking questions and answering questions.
Presentations (20%)#
Presenting papers and participating in class will contribute to demonstrating a basic awareness at each of learning objective.
Warning
Dr. Brown will present the first few papers, to give an example
Each time you present will be evaluated on specification, your presentation should:
summarize the key takeaways for the reading(s) in your own words
summarize key details for understanding to facilitate the discussion
discussion of strengths and weaknesses of the paper & method
describe how this paper relates to bigger ideas in the course and (if applicable) your own work
You’ll present 2-3 times and you will be expected to improve each time, not to be perfect.
When you present you don’t have to have all the answers, you can have open questions.
The goal is that you guide the discussion by doing the above and opening the floor up for questions.
Project (60%)#
The final project is a chance to dive deeply into one of the course topics. It has the following timeline. Percentages below are of the total grade.
Date |
Milestone |
Content and Format |
Weight |
Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2024-02-16 |
Area Selection |
Consultation meeting and general questions |
2% |
feedback only |
2024-03-02 |
Topic Selection |
Objective and scope of work as bulleted lists or paragraph |
2% |
on completion or scope adjustment/mandatory revisions |
2024-03-08 |
Proposal |
Problem statement, lit review, method, detials below |
10% |
specification, with revisions until approval |
2024-04-05 |
Checkin |
Consultation meeting and prelim results |
3% |
completion |
2024-04-18 |
Paper Rough draft |
Draft ready for peers to read |
5% |
completion + feedback, per paper specification |
2024-04-23/25 |
Presentation |
talk in class, slides submitted for comment |
15% |
specification |
2024-05-07 |
final paper |
final paper submitted for grading |
20% |
specification |
2024-05-07 |
final reflection |
final paper submitted for grading |
3% |
completion |
Proposal Specifications#
Submit a 1.5- 2page proposal in the ACM Proceedings (2-column) format.
Your proposal should include a concise problem statement, a preliminary literature review that situates your project, a description of method(s) you will use to answer your questions in your project, and the expected outcomes of your project.
The proposal will be graded on if it meets the specification or not, but you will be able to revise and resubmit if the first submission does not. To meet specification it must:
be the right length
be the right format
include all required sections
be written clearly
describe the problem, clearly identifying what the specific goals of your project are
describe a tractable project
summarize relevant literature for the problem context
summarize relevant course-related literature for your project
describe what you will do in your project (methods/process)
describe the expected outcome of your project.
Presentation Specifications#
Your presentation should:
include an agenda for the talk
describe the problem
summarize relevant background
clearly identify what you did
describe findings
include concluding remarks on reflection/possible extensions
be 15-20 minutes long
there will be a 5-10 minute Q&A after
Paper Specifications#
Your final paper should include a concise problem statement, a complete literature review that situates your project, a description of method(s) used your project, findings/r4esults, a discussion or future work section, and conclusion.
For it to meet specification it must:
be 4-5 pages + references
be the right format
include clearly marked sections indicating the required content
be written clearly
describe the problem, clearly identifying the specific goals of your project
summarize relevant literature for the problem context
summarize relevant course-related literature for your project
include clear description of what was accomplished
include a clear summary of results (may include null results/ failed findings)
include a conclusion that suggests possible next directions
Reflection#
You will also submit a short reflection outside of your paper
summarize what you learned in your project
any challenges and how you over came them/ or wish you had asked for more help