HONORS Learning-by-Contract Evaluation

COLLEGE Semester: Spring Year: 2018

Complete this form by typing directly into the fields below. This form must be typed; handwritten forms will NOT
be accepted. Once completed and signed by student and faculty member, print and submit this form to the
Honors College (210 Lowry Hall) by the official deadline as stated on the Honors College website. Keep a copy
of this form for your records.

STUDENT INFORMATION
Last Name: Murphy First Name: Joseph Student ID: 14302457
MU Email: jlmygh@mail.missouri.edu # Honors Credit Hours Completed: 0
Major(s): Information Technology Expected Graduation (Semester/Year): 2021

COURSE AND FACULTY INFORMATION

Course Title: Algorithm Design and Programming II
Catalog # (ex. BIO_SC 2200): CS 2050 # Credit Hours: 4 Lab Class? ✔ Yes No
Faculty Name (Last, First): Ulmann, Jeffrey Faculty Email: ulmannj@missouri.edu

HONORS LEARNING-BY-CONTRACT EVALUATION (To be completed by Faculty Instructor)

Please indicate whether the student completed the contracted work satisfactorily. If not, please explain.
Successfully completed the Learning-by-Contract and should receive Honors designation for this course.
Work received was not honors quality or did not satisfy the requirements described the in the proposal.
Student's grade in the course was lower than a "B".
Please provide written comments that speak to the quality of work completed by the student for the HLBC project(s).

BY SIGNING BELOW YOU ACKNOWLEDGE COMPLETION OF THE HONORS LEARNING-

BY-CONTRACT COURSE AND HAVE ACCURATELY REPRESENTED YOUR WORK IN THE
NARRATIVE SUMMARY ON PAGE 2.

Student Signature: Date:

Faculty Signature: Date:

Dept. Chair Signature: Date:

(Only required if Instructor is not Faculty Member)

HONORS COLLEGE INFORMATION (To be completed by the Honors College)

HC Director Signature: Date:

Director Comments: Student Grade:

 HONORS LEARNING-BY-CONTRACT NARRATIVE SUMMARY (To be completed by Student)

Complete the following section by typing directly into the form. If more space is required, please attach a
separate typed document to this form. For the HLBC Narrative Summary, please answer the following
questions:

1. Based on your initial proposal, how would you assess your completed work for this project and how did you fulfill
each of the HLBC requirements listed below?
• Research and written component
• Public Scholarship or presentation of work
• Sustained engagement between student and faculty throughout the semester
• A timeline of activities, check-in meetings, and due dates
• Deeper disciplinary/professional focus related to student’s academic interests and career goals
• Ongoing reflection of student progress

1) We successfully tested the effectiveness of multiple algorithms and graphed the increase in
runtime as the data set grows by writing the code ourselves. We also discussed various subjects
within computer science, such as how various different mathematical concepts can also be applied
to real life, found in the book "Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions"
by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths.

2) We presented our findings related to the efficiency of the tested algorithms with growing data sets
both to the professor periodically, and to the class at the end of the semester.

3) We met every week to discuss potential projects and tests, and discuss the subject of computer
science at a deeper level.

4) The due dates of projects were clearly conveyed at the end of each meeting, and we made sure
to meet every week of the semester.

5) I learned a lot through these meetings that I would not have otherwise learned, and I imagine my
partner did as well.

6) Professor would check our progress in our testing and offer feedback and new ideas each week.

2. Please describe the value of this experience for you, what you learned from it, and how you will use this knowledge
to further your academic and career goals.
I learned about how important it is that a program not only work, but that it works efficiently. When
data sets grow large, minipulating that data may take far longer than is reasonable if the algorithm is
poor. I believe that this will help me in my professional career, as most data in modern times is large
and needs a very efficient algorithm to be used effectively.