Research has shown that students learn better when they do homework assignments in pairs. In this course, you are required to work with a homework partner. You will keep the same partner throughout the course - no partner "switches" will be allowed.
Working with a partner does not necessarily mean a decrease in the time you will spend on your homework; indeed, it may increase the number of hours you spend on your assignments. But with this increased time comes better understanding (and better exam grades).
Both partners should know how to do all of the homework problems in a given assignment. It is not advisable to split up the homework problems between partners, because each partner will be responsible for learning all the homework material for the exams.
Let me suggest a couple of ways pairs might work together. One way is called "Pair Programming", where one student is the "driver" (at the keyboard) and the other student is the "navigator". The driver and navigator periodically switch roles. The entire assignment is worked out by the pair working together. We'll watch a short video in class that describes pair programming. Another way pairs can work is for each student in the pair to do the assignment individually, then meet with your partner in person, discuss the assignment, and decide which solutions to submit for credit (you may also, as part of your discussion, decide to rework some of the solutions before submitting them).
Both partners will receive the same grades on their homework assignments.
Partners may begin working together starting with Homework 2.
If you and a classmate want to work together, one of you should fill in the partner request spreadsheet (available from the myWPI page for CS 1101). The form asks for the names and wpi email addresses of both partners. You may choose a partner from either lecture section (i.e. if you attend class at 9am, and your friend attends at 10am, it's still OK for you to be partners).