John Hade

This review is for Mr. John L. Hade, Instructor, CS 304 – 32 “Data Structures”, FALL 2001. This class was well-managed and a pleasant way to occupy one’s Saturday morning. All in all, a good learning experience.

TEXTBOOK“C++ Plus Data Structures”, by Nell Dale and David Teague, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2001, ISBN 0-7637-1470-4. At first I thought that this book would be lame, based on its peculiar use of two lame tones of green , but I discovered that it was well-written and comprehensible. A companion web-site via the publisher’s website had important programming code that we incorporated into our programming assignments.

SYLLABUSWell-crafted and comprehensive. Explained in detail how we were to be graded, and on page 2 a calendar that paced the class in re expectations of what to cover, exams, etc. One of the better syllabi that I have ever seen.

CLASS ATTENDANCENecessary given the quantity of material to cover. However, he only made a show of taking attendance a couple of times during the first few weeks of the semester.

CLASSROOM INSTRUCTIONMr. Hade is well-mannered, efficient, organized with a good sense of humor. (He looks like Pres. Bush!!) He is approachable, and mentioned repeatedly that he was available either after class for questions/help or at Office Hours Monday and Wednesday late afternoons. He explains the material well, goes over homework assignments and, to a point, is patient re explaining the material.

EXAMSTwo midterms and one final, all the same format: 7 to 8 problems which could be walk-through examples from class, write program snippets, explain why a certain result occurred. (Letter grades are A = 3.51 to 4.0, etc.) No quizzes, although a few would have been good.

HOMEWORKAssigned almost every class, and consisted of class handouts and textbooks problems. Due the following class, and the answers reviewed in class. Well worth the effort to complete.

CLASS PROJECTNone, but we did have three programming assignments. I feel that he should have had at least one or two more programming assignments in the semester.

GRADINGEach of the three exams counted one-third of the final grade, subject to modification whereby: (1) any programming assignment that did not receive a score of “C” or better would result in the reduction of the course letter grade by one letter, and (2) 70% of the homework assignments given throughout the semester must receive a grade of “S” (Satisfactory) or the course grade would be reduced by one letter. Toward the end of the semester, he allowed everyone to look at what he had in his Grading Book to see what they were missing.

BOTTOM LINEMr. Hade is a solid instructor. At first, I thought that I had signed up for a course in “Data Structures Lite”, but as I reviewed all my notes, etc., in preparation for the Final Exam, I was impressed by all of the material we had covered. Mr. Hade is likeable and well-mannered, with a good sense of humor; and he sincerely tries to help his students learn the material without going to the other extreme of being a crutch. He is fair, explains clearly and thoroughly, and I am happy to have signed up for his class. I look forward to taking more of his classes in the future, if I can.