Course Changelog

Running a course can be very hectic, but it is important to take time during and after the semester to reflect on what went well and what could be improved. Keeping track of these things is crucial to ensure that you don’t accidentally try a “new” initiative that was already done and to make sure that issues with the course actually get addressed. Ensure that you keep track of how a change went over in addition to any implementation details. This documentation can be called different things, such as a course changelog, retrospective, pluses and deltas, “for next semester” doc, etc. We recommend the following:

• At every staff meeting, discuss what went well and what could be improved. This can be done on a simple Google Doc or fancier tools like easyretro.io. Come up with topics/questions ahead of time to focus the discussion. It is useful to get feedback from students and staff members about:
  • The development/maintenance of new and existing assignments
  • Exam creation and logistics
  • Course staff management strategies
  • Course policies
• Convert meeting notes into action items. Decide whether action should be taken now, later in the semester, or next semester. If something should be done this semester, make sure to assign someone to the task, determine a reasonable due date, and check back when the task is due to ensure it’s completed.
• Store long-term notes in an easily accessible place for future staff. Every course is different, but we recommend a Shared Google Drive to ensure that you do not lose important files when a staff member leaves or graduates.

Data 100 has graciously shared one of their changelogs, broken down by what they tried in Sp25 and what they’d like to try in Su25/Fa25. This is not the only way to set up a changelog, do what works for you. Ensure you’re logged into your Berkeley email when trying to access.