Instructor Progress
Prototype validated; project implementation in progress.
Last updated: 10 July 2026
This page tracks the redesign at the level of decisions and teaching materials. It complements the instructor preview, which explains the motivation and the kind of feedback being requested.
Status at a Glance
| Workstream | Status | Evidence | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course framing and AI policy | Developed | Syllabus and AI policy | Revise after assessment decisions |
| Colleague feedback | Requested | Instructor preview shared for review | Record and synthesize responses |
| Weeks 1-4: MATLAB prototype | Validated prototype | Week pages, slides, labs, exercises, and checked MATLAB code | Use as the pattern for later weeks |
| Week 5: symbolic mathematics | Outline | Week and slide outlines | Expand after assessment design |
| Weeks 6-12: R and data workflow | Outline/early scaffold | Week and slide outlines; limited R lab and starter code | Build the R teaching sequence |
| Weeks 13-15: modeling and synthesis | Outline | Week and slide outlines | Expand after the R foundations |
| Quizzes and midterm | Active design | Assessment weights exist in the syllabus | Decide format, timing, and validation tasks |
| Projects | Core architecture agreed | MATLAB Project 1, R Project 2, synthetic group data, PDF plus source files | Generate data, starters, and checkers |
| Executable code checks | Implemented | Local scripts and GitHub Actions | Extend checks as new code is added |
“Validated prototype” means that Weeks 1-4 are sufficiently developed and reviewed to serve as the model for the remaining course. It does not mean that they can never be revised.
What Has Been Established
- The course remains a mathematical and statistical software course using MATLAB and R.
- LLM use is treated as a normal part of the environment, with an emphasis on verification rather than trust.
- Students must be able to explain, test, and interpret computational results.
- Weeks 1-4 demonstrate the intended weekly pattern and have been validated as the prototype.
- The course is expected to have about 60 students, so individual oral project defenses are not a practical default.
- Project 1 uses MATLAB and Project 2 uses R.
- Each group receives a distinct synthetic building-energy dataset supplied by the instructor.
- Students submit PDF reports with executable source code and machine-readable results; Quarto and HTML are not required.
- Projects are group-assessed. The remaining 80% of the course establishes individual competence through quizzes and examinations.
- There is no mandatory individual project examination. A brief verification may occur for a small random sample or when submitted evidence requires clarification.
Current Design Questions
The current work is not further expansion of the weekly content. It is to make the assessment system coherent before that expansion continues:
- What should the quizzes measure, and how should they prepare students for the midterm?
- How should the midterm combine code reading, implementation, and validation?
- When should the MATLAB project be due relative to the quizzes and transition to R?
Projects have no mandatory individual examination. The approved policy permits only limited random or evidence-triggered verification of submitted work.
The project pages now record the agreed MATLAB-to-R architecture and the remaining implementation decisions.
Feedback and Decision Log
| Date | Milestone or decision |
|---|---|
| 8 July 2026 | The instructor preview was added as the entry point for colleague review. |
| 8-9 July 2026 | Weeks 1-4 were expanded with fuller notes, slides, labs, exercises, and MATLAB examples. |
| 9 July 2026 | Automated MATLAB and R course-code checks were added. |
| 10 July 2026 | Weeks 1-4 were recorded as the validated prototype; assessment design became the active phase. |
| 10 July 2026 | Enrollment of about 60 and the impracticality of individual oral defenses were recorded as design constraints. |
| 10 July 2026 | A detailed two-stage project design and implementation workflow were drafted for review. |
| 10 July 2026 | The core project architecture was agreed: MATLAB first, R second, group-specific synthetic building data, and PDF reports accompanied by executable source and results files. |
| 10 July 2026 | Projects were confirmed as group-assessed; mandatory individual project examinations were replaced by limited random or evidence-triggered verification. |
Next Decision Gate
Before Weeks 5-15 are expanded to the same depth, the next milestone is a working project package containing:
- 20 quality-checked group datasets;
- withheld validation datasets;
- scaffolded MATLAB and R scripts;
- fixed results-file schemas and batch checkers;
- a PDF report template;
- a decision on the MATLAB project date.
Feedback on those choices is especially useful now. The original review questions remain available on the instructor preview.