Course Syllabus

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Tutor Training in Computer Science

CSE 95 prepares and supports first-time CSE tutors.


In person! CSE 1202 Mondays 2pm-2:50pm

⚠️ Please plan to attend CSE 95 lecture time consistently. If you have any recurring schedule conflicts, please let us know ASAP*

⚠️Please complete the Quiz First Day Survey: Pre-Course Goals and Expectations #FinAid before week 2*

CSE 95 Instructional Team

Professor Gerald Soosairaj

Gerald

Hi everyone, I am Gerald Soosairaj and I am the instructor for this course. I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of amazing CSE tutors over the past few years. I am so much looking forward to teaching and learning from all of you this quarter! :) 

Email: asoosairaj@ucsd.edu

Office Hours: Tue 11am  - 12pm and Fri 2pm - 3pm, CSE2106

Webpage: https://geraldsoosairaj.github.io/

TA Audria Montalvo

Audria

Hi everyone! I'm Audria, a second year PhD student in the CS Education Research Lab! I got my bachelors in biology here at UCSD and have tutored CSE8A,CSE6R, and CSS29 during my undergrad. Fun fact: I learned how to swim last quarter 😅. Super excited to help you all! Im familiar with the nerves of being a first time tutor, so please reach out with any questions, comments, concerns, or if you want to share some tea going on in your course (teheheh). I know you will do amazing! 

Email: ansaravi@ucsd.edu

Office Hours: Wednesdays 11:30am- 12:30am CSE B270A

Getting started: Find asynchronous activities to help you prepare for the quarter and your tutoring position in the "Week 1" assignment in Gradescope.

This course is part of the requirement for all new CSE tutors.

When you successfully complete this course, you will earn 2 credit hours that may count towards lower division CSE electives.

In CSE 95, you will learn and practice skills related to assisting with CSE courses as a tutor, both with student-facing tasks and behind-the-scenes course activities with the rest of the instructional team. For example, you will learn

  • How to help students effectively and create an inclusive learning environment
  • What are professional and unprofessional behaviors when working in a team
  • How to learn from others and support one another

For CSE 95, you will be expected to:

  • Read or watch assigned resources related to the science of learning and teaching practice.
  • Complete pre-class preparation activities (what we refer to as 'pre-class assignments') connecting these resources to your experiences as a student and a tutor.
  • Attend CSE 95 class sections and participate in in-class discussions and activities.
  • Once during the term, observe an experienced tutor and be observed by the CSE 95 TA (Audria).
  • Prepare and submit an end of quarter paper.

Each session of CSE 95 will address a key facet of tutoring. You will start to engage with the topic in the pre-class assignment and you should be ready to discuss your ideas in our synchronous in-class sessions. If you would like advice about a topic before we discuss it in class, please reach out to our CSE 95 TA (Audria) to schedule a meeting. Resources for the pre-class assignments are here.

Navigating Canvas

On the left side of the main CSE 95 Canvas page you can find tabs containing resources you will need for the class.

  • "Home" and "Syllabus" contain information on the logistics of the course, including assignments and grading.

  • "Gradescope" has a link to Gradescope, where you will submit pre-class assignments, in-class assignments, and the Peer Observation and End of Quarter papers.

  • Under "Pages" you can find a link to all class material, including the resources for pre-class assignments and the prompts for the midterm and final assignments. 

  • The remaining tabs contain resources such as UCSD policies and where to look for help.

Grading

This class is taken P/NP. We hope that every student will successfully earn a passing grade in this class. To do so, you need to meet or exceed the following minimum passing thresholds in each course component.

(1) Pre-class assignments: All assignments are required. Based on the readings, videos, from the resources assigned that week.

  • 📥Due: Friday end of day 11:59pm (soft deadline), BUT we will still accept it if submitted before Monday @8am (hard deadline)
  • Note: Week 1 pre-class assignment is due Jan7th @11:59pm (soft deadline), until Jan 9th @11:59pm (hard deadline)

(2) Lecture Handouts: Engagement and attendance in lecture is marked by completing the in class handout.

  • 📥Due: That same day End of Day 11:59pm Monday
  • Any missed CSE 95 session is communicated to the instructor and tutors via email BEFORE the lecture.
  • You are only able to makeup 2 lectures by attending TA's OH (Wednesdays 11:30am- 12:30am CSE B270A or by appointment)  to complete the handout. The expected time to complete this handout is 1 hour.

(3) Midterm & Final Assignments: Both assignments must be completed thoughtfully and in a timely manner. At the discretion of the CSE 95 instructional team, assignments that are not sufficiently thorough may need to be revised for credit. There will be two assignments: (Midterm assignment) Peer observation and (Final assignment) End of quarter paper. Upload your submissions for these assignments to Gradescope.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to fostering a learning environment for this course that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives and experiences, and respects your identities (including race, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sex, class, sexuality, religion, ability, age, educational background and more). Our goal is to create a diverse and inclusive learning environment where all students feel comfortable and can thrive. We also expect that you, as a student in this course, will honor and respect your classmates, abiding by the UCSD Principles of Community (https://ucsd.edu/about/principles.html). Please understand that others’ backgrounds, perspectives and experiences may be different than your own, and help us to build an environment where everyone is respected and feels comfortable. If you experience any sort of harassment or discrimination, please contact the instructor as soon as possible, or, if you prefer to speak with someone outside of the course, please contact the Office of Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination: https://ophd.ucsd.edu/.

Academic Integrity

In this course we expect students to adhere to the UC San Diego Integrity of Scholarship Policy. This means that you will complete your work honestly, with integrity, and support a culture of integrity within the class for which you are tutoring. Some examples of specific ways this policy applies to CSE 95 include:

  • Honesty about attendance (including punctuality, engagement, and illness) in class
  • Completion of pre-class assignments individually and on-time
  • Encouraging honest work among the students in the class for which you are tutoring
  • Reporting suspected instances of academic dishonesty in this class, as well as in the class you are tutoring, to the instructor right away.

Outside Tutoring

Individuals are not permitted to approach students to offer services of any kind in exchange for pay, including tutoring services. This is considered solicitation for business and is strictly prohibited by University policy.

Students with Disabilities

Students requesting accommodations for this course due to a disability must provide a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter issued by the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD), the Student OSD portal is at https://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/sso/osdsp/home. Students are required to present their AFA letters to Faculty (please make arrangements to contact me privately) and to the OSD Liaison in the department in advance so that accommodations may be arranged.

Class material and intellectual property

My lectures and course materials, including videos, assignments, and similar materials, are protected by U.S. copyright law and by University policy. I am the exclusive owner of the copyright in those materials I create. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own use. You may also share those materials with another student who is enrolled in or auditing this course. You may not reproduce, distribute or display (post/upload) lecture notes or recordings or course materials in any other way — whether or not a fee is charged — without my express prior written consent. You also may not allow others to do so. If you do so, you may be subject to student conduct proceedings under the UC San Diego Student Code of Conduct.

Material in this course is curated from a wide range of sources, with attribution and permission. We endeavour to give credit for ideas, suggestions, and we encourage you to similarly acknowledge the contributions to your own learning from your peers and others.

Similarly, you own the copyright in your original work. If I am interested in posting your answers or papers on the course web site, I will ask for your written permission.

Acknowledgements

This course was developed and adapted from versions offered in recent years at UC San Diego by (alphabetically) Christine Alvarado, Paul Cao, Gary Gillespie, Mia Minnes, and Joe Politz. Additional inspiration and resource curation was drawn from the Peer Teaching Summit 2022 team: Sarah Heckman, Lina Battestilli, Anna Howard (NC State); Kristin Stephens-Martinez, Brandon Fain (Duke University); Ketan Mayer-Patel, David Gotz, Aaron Smith (UNC Chapel Hill); Kristy Boyer, Maya Israel (University of Florida). Thanks also to the team at James Madison University: Dee Weikle, Michael Stewart, and Sharon Simmons.

Copyright 2026 by Gerald Soosairaj.
Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0

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Course Summary
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