Syllabus

CSE 198: Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) Outreach
Directed Group Study — 2 units

View Syllabus (Google Doc)

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Instructional Team
  3. Course Goals
  4. Logistics
  5. Responsibilities
  6. CSE Lesson Requirements
  7. Reflections & Feedback
  8. Pedagogical Learning/Research
  9. Final Presentation
  10. Mandated Reporter Training
  11. Course Materials & Communication
  12. Grading
  13. Optional: Technical Elective / General Education Credit

Overview

This program facilitates the creation and delivery of interactive and engaging lessons to socioeconomically disadvantaged K–12 students in the San Diego area, aiming to inspire and introduce students to various engineering disciplines while fostering a passion for learning and creating.

Instructional Team

Course Goals

By the end of the quarter, students should be able to:

  • Design educational, fun, and interactive lessons for K–12 students
  • Conduct and present outreach lessons at K–12 schools
  • Collaborate across MAE/CSE/ECE 198 courses on a shared project
  • Develop soft skills such as teaching, public speaking, and communication

Logistics

Weekly Class Meetings

  • Students are required to attend one hour-long weekly meetings focused on teaching skills, lesson development, and practice presentations.
  • Early in the quarter, optional presentation skills sessions may be hosted depending on student needs.

Responsibilities

Group Work

  • Improve/create your chosen/assigned lesson with lesson quality in mind
  • Prepare outreach lesson materials for hands-on activities and projects

Outreach Participation

  • Attend a minimum of five lessons/events (five “points”) throughout the quarter by teaching/assisting with lessons (MAE/ECE lessons count) or by participating in outreach events (e.g., on-campus tours).
  • You must attend at least two designated CSE 198 lessons.
  • Lessons are assigned points on the HKN Portal: 1 hour = 1 point.
  • If you have a car and are willing to drive, let the team know ASAP; drivers receive reimbursements for mileage/gas.
  • Drivers typically pick up assigned passengers 30–45 minutes before a lesson; Discord chats are used to coordinate pickup location/time—make sure you can receive notifications.

CSE Lesson Requirements

Lesson Design & Delivery

  • Design a high-quality lesson for your desired/assigned topic (in a group).
  • Implement activities and teaching content appropriate to the specific school/age group.

Content Quiz

  • For each lesson, the group must create a short Content Quiz (Google Forms) covering key concepts.
  • Lessons + the corresponding content quiz must be finalized two days prior to the event and confirmed with the course leader.
  • To attend a lesson and be assigned a ride, a student must review the lesson content and pass the Content Quiz once to demonstrate understanding.
  • Content quizzes must be completed no later than one day before the lesson.

Reflections & Feedback

Post-lesson Reflections

Write two total reflections (1–2 pages each) after attending CSE 198 lessons. Topics may include what was successful/unsuccessful, how to improve the lesson, general thoughts, etc.

Post-lesson Feedback Form

Submit a feedback form response within 24 hours of each lesson you attend (links provided via Discord and on the HKN Portal event description).

Example Timeline (per lesson)

A typical cadence is:

  • Two days before (by 12:00pm): lesson presentation + quiz due and submitted
  • One day before (by 12:00pm): attendees complete the quiz to be assigned a ride
  • Lesson day: lesson presented at the school
  • Within 24 hours after: post-lesson feedback form due

Pedagogical Learning/Research

Research one area of your choice in hands-on learning and pedagogy. Perform a literature search and write a summary of your findings and how you will apply them to your lesson. Include this within your post-lesson reflection.

Final Presentation

Create an individual final presentation (about 2–3 minutes) highlighting the outreach work completed during the quarter. Include:

  • Brief descriptions of lessons developed
  • Overview of lesson delivery at schools
  • Reflections and feedback on lesson delivery

Mandated Reporter Training

Because volunteers work with children, participants are considered mandated reporters under California state law and must complete mandated reporter training and send the completion certificate.

Complete these UCSD trainings by Week 4:

  • CANRA — California Mandated Reporter
  • Abuse Risk Mgmt. for Volunteers

Note

If you cannot access those, please notify the CSE Outreach Chair. All that is needed are screenshots of your certificates for our records.

Course Materials & Communication

  • The HKN Outreach Portal lists scheduled lessons; students are responsible for finding and RSVPing to enough lessons to meet the five-lesson minimum. Instructions for signing up will be provided after enrollment confirmation.
  • Discord is the primary communication channel for updates, reminders, group discussions, and ride scheduling; joining is required.

Quarter Timeline

  • Week 1: Info sessions, intro, logistics
  • Week 2: Group assignments, brainstorming lesson ideas
  • Weeks 2–3: Creating lessons, pedagogy research
  • Week 4: Lesson presentation dry-run
  • Weeks 5–10: School visits + lesson delivery, feedback forms + lesson improvements, final/technical report

Grading

This course is graded Pass/No Pass.

To receive a passing grade, you must meet all of the following:

  • Attend 80% of weekly meetings
  • Contribute to development/rework of a full lesson with your group
  • Research a teaching pedagogy and employ your findings within a lesson (describe findings in reflection)
  • Teach/assist in outreach events at schools: at least five lessons total, two of which must be CSE outreach lessons, where the remaining three may be any combination of CSE/ECE/MAE 198 lessons or other outreach events, such as on-campus tours.
  • Write two post-lesson reflections
  • Submit feedback forms for all lessons attended
  • Create a final presentation/report as described above

Important

Failure to meet the outreach minimums or submit required reflections/training will result in a No Pass. Please contact the CSE Outreach Chair if you have any extenuating circumstances, and/or you require OSD accommodations.

Optional: Technical Elective / General Education Credit

If you have taken two quarters of the outreach program and want to petition for a technical elective (CSE) or one to two quarters for GE credit (e.g., Sixth College Experiential Learning/Practicum (4 units) or Seventh College “High Impact” (2 units)), you must write a technical report (check with your advisors for eligibility).

Please view the Policies page for more information regarding criteria.

Technical Report Guidelines

  • The technical report replaces the final presentation/report (you do not submit two final reports).
  • Write an individual report (2–4 pages) summarizing your experience, including:
    • Design of outreach lessons
    • Delivery of lessons at schools
    • Feedback and reflections on the lessons and program as a whole
    • Pedagogical portion: teaching methodologies/strategies/effectiveness; engagement and learning outcomes
    • Technological portion: technical aspects, challenges, innovations related to lesson material/projects
    • Include links to relevant lessons and projects developed

CSE 198 Winter 2026 | Copyright © 2026 Andrew Jeter | University of California, San Diego