Parkinson, David  

Winter 2015 is the first quarter he has taught -ever. His class wasn't difficult, but his ability to teach is sub-par. He stumbles like no other, literally every other word is "ya-knowwww" or some other annoying filler. His lectures are incredibly boring, he just reads off his powerpoint for 50 straight minutes, says "thank you," and then you leave. All that being said, he is the most accommodating teacher I have ever had. His labs and projects are straightforward and instructions basically walk you through the whole thing. tl;dr: don't go out of your way to take him, but don't purposefully avoid having him.

Extremely helpful and accommodative, can't recommend him enough.

He's great. Even in a 7am class.

Amazing professor for a 7am class. Yeah he's not the most interesting guy in the world, but he's very good at explaining concepts and always willing to help even if you can't make it to office hours. He's extremely lenient (on the border of too lenient) with when you turn in labs so don't worry if you can't finish a lab in time. Lecture is optional. The midterm was fair, and it's a common final. If you can deal with a 7am class, Parkinson is an amazing professor. Take him if you can.

Having Parkinson as a professor makes his 7am class much less painful. He is extremely kind and always willing to give generous amounts of help. He will accept late labs and give you partial credit which is very helpful. His class is pretty straightforward and he doesn't try to trick you with anything. It's kinda boring but he's worth taking.

His class comprises of: 1) labs, 2) programs, 3) in-class quizzes, 4) a midterm, 5) and a final. My class was required to finish 13 different labs, with each lab asking the student do write some code that demonstrates a concept that was covered in a previous lecture. You submit your code online. Parkinson allows submissions in the following manner: 1) On the due date, 100% credit possible, 2) If late by one day, 90% credit possible, 3) If late by two days, 80% credit possible, and 4) If late by any more than that, no credit possible. Be sure to watch out for certain assignments that do not follow this structure, where you cannot get credit even after the first day. Programs are longer, more involved labs that count for more of your grade than a lab. They follow the same submission rules. In-class quizzes require you to be present at lab time. At this time, he gives out a sheet of paper that instructs you to code something, similar to labs/programs. The midterm was difficult because of the time crunch, where we were required to write code by pen on a piece of paper. He fixed this during the final by giving us multiple choice questions where we had to analyze code. This may be because this is his first time teaching. Personally, I like his style of teaching and administering the class. It's very straightforward and he helps you learn if you ask him, which means that he won't baby you, which is fine for most people. He is also personally friendly. Would I take a class by him again? Most definitely. Would I prefer taking his class over trying out another teacher? Probably, depending on the ratings of this other teacher.

Professor Parkinson is probably the most normal Computer Science professor/teacher that I have ever had. I heard that he is actually has a mechanical engineering degree rather than a computer science degree, which would explain that. Professor Parkinson's class was very predictable in that he was honest about upcoming quizzes, labs, tests, etc. He is also very approachable during lab, class and office hours. Office Hours are helpful if you weren't focusing during the early morning lecture, though he will typically explain a concept in the same way. So If you were listening well to lecture and couldn't understand something, try consulting the textbook or youtube or a friend in addition to going to office hours. Since i took AP Computer Science, much of what was discussed in lecture was repeated information. I would have benefited from a more challenging course, though it was nice to have time to work on other classes as well. All in all, Professor Parkinson definitely wants you to learn and perform well, which is always a great quality in a professor. I recommend him if you have the discipline to read the chapter about interfaces, the chapter on the order of complexity of algorithms, and the chapters on java sets by yourself.

Decent. Really boring and meh at teaching. but easy tests and projects..

Parkinson is one of my favorite professors I have had at Poly. This class is not easy and requires alot of work, but he is extremely good at expressing the difficult information in an accessible way. Parkinson teaches a 7am class where is always awake and engaged, goes to work a full time job and then comes back in the evenings for office hours where he will even stay late helping with student difficulties. It is awesome to see a professor who really cares about his students and wants to see you learn. His midterm was very reasonable and while the projects can be tough, they are very applicable to what is being taught. The only negative comment about his class is the 7am lab but he understands that it can be a difficult time for students and other than for demos he does not mind if you miss the lab. I highly recommend this class.

I was stuck between taking a professor with horrible ratings or take Parkinson's 7AM. Choosing him was extremely worth it. He is great at presenting the material and complicated concepts. As someone who knew nothing about programming in Java, Parkinson taught me a lot. It was challenging but nothing impossible. Despite having a full time job, he shows up wide-awake for 7AM lectures and lab. He goes to work and comes back in the evening for office hours. He definitely knows what he's talking about and quickly responds to e-mails. He will make sure that students know what he expects from them and he's very approachable too. He is a professor that you can ask questions to anytime, it's very helpful. If theres anything to complain about, the lecture style can be dry and could be seen as 'boring'. But hey, it's a 7AM class but he has a lot to offer. So if that is something you won't have a problem with, David Parkinson is the man. If you put in enough effort into the projects (turn them in on time), finish labs on time, and pay attention to lecture + look over the worksheets he gives out, getting an A isn't a problem at all. Waking up for a 7AM in this case was totally worth it.

Parkinson is the sweetest guy ever, and not to mention normal... definitely teaches computer science in a normal way. Teaches at 7AM, but it is definitely worth to take him. He doesn't even require you to go to lecture. Labs and projects are a lot of work. Grade consists of labs, projects, one midterm, and final. I think he curves the class in the end... super helpful overall :)

Even though the class was at 7am, I really enjoyed learning from Professor Parkinson. He is a very approachable guy, and answer questions and sincerely try his best to make you understand the material. Office hours are great, and he emails you right back with any last minute questions you might have. I would recommend this professor to anyone who can stand to wake up at 6:30 in the morning, I will be taking him again next quarter for 103.

I took CPE 202 during my first quarter at Cal Poly, having taken AP Computer Science in high school. If you aren't familiar with Python, be ready for a bit of a learning curve during the first couple weeks, but Lecturer Parkinson will help if asked. I also enrolled in a study session, which was very helpful for learning the basics of Python. While it's apparent that he knows a lot about Python, his presentation style can be dull and monotone, especially at 7:10 a.m. when I took his course. For the first six or seven weeks of class, it's almost more helpful to just read the textbook. For the last couple weeks, however, the material is not covered by the textbook, and you'll fall behind if you don't show up to lecture. Lab attendance isn't required, and like other CS labs, it's most helpful if you want help on your labs and assignments. Even though taking a 7:10 a.m. class might not appeal to everyone, I've heard that the experience in Parkinson's course is much better than the other professors', and I would recommend taking it.

Parkinson is a solid prof. He is really clear and concise and is always willing to help you at office hours or in lab. 202 is pretty interesting and I was actually excited to go to class every day at **7am. It takes a good prof to do that.

Professor Parkinson is very patient and lenient when it comes to lab and assignment turn-in. Don't stress if you turn in your lab 1 hour late. He delivers course materials clearly and effectively. He is always smiling and supportive. He makes a 7am class so much easier! Best professor ever at Cal Poly!! 100% recommended!

Overall I thought Parkinson did well at teaching data structures. He was patient during labs/office hours and will almost always point you in the right direction when you have a problem with a project/lab. He's not a full-time teacher, so he'll sometimes cancel office hours for business trips which was a bit of a let down (though a Q+A forum run by 202 teachers is available too). He also didn't post (or posted last minute) lecture code and study guides that were provided by the CS department. As long as you have a friend from another section to get these notes from, Parkinson is a good choice for 202.

Taking this instructor is like being in a Twilight Zone episode. You just can