[GH-ISSUE #324] Student Feedback - Chapter 7 #5327

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GiteaMirror · 2026-04-21T21:19:21-05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-21 21:19:21 -05:00

Originally created by @jasonjabbour on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/issues/324

Originally assigned to: @jasonjabbour on GitHub.

Chapter Seven - AI Training

We found that Chapter Three and Chapter Seven cover almost the exact same topics, though Chapter 7 went into more depth. We recommend either consolidating the two or just letting Chapter Seven stand on its own.
This chapter is the longest we've encountered so far---towards the end, we were all having a hard time retaining the information. We felt like we held on through Learning Objectives 1-4 , but beyond that our comprehension had dwindled. I believe this has more to do with the length of the text rather than the actual writing, so to fix this we recommend either cutting down the writing or splitting it into two chapters.
There are a lot of equations in this chapter, but (at least for the first couple of equations) no context for variables or symbols that might be foreign to students. Additionally, the equations didn't appear when exporting the PDF, which we might want to change for students who prefer to take notes.
Also for students who download PDFs, would there be a way to hyperlink the videos included so that they can be accessed from PDF format?
We like the bolding of key terms in this chapter! Would be helpful to see this in other sections of the book.
In the introduction, explaining some real-world implications/examples would help ground readers a bit more.
7.4 Training Data, 7.6 Hyperparameter Tuning, and 7.9 Activation Functions were all really long sections. A good rule of thumb is to have every section be ~2 pages, just so readers can feel like they're progressing through the chapter a bit more (good for student morale!). We found ourselves getting a bit bogged down beyond that.
In 7.4 Training Data, there is a "Data Leakage Between Sets" section and "Information Leakage Between Sets" section. Are these two things different? We would love more clarification on that.
To help minimize text, it seemed to us like 7.4.2 Common Pitfalls and Mistakes and 7.6.3 Auto Tuners could have been turned into tables. The tables in this book have really been a highlight for us, and are a great way to pull information easily.

Machine Learning Systems - 7 AI Training.pdf

Originally posted by @sgiannuzzi39 in https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/discussions/256#discussioncomment-9777263

Originally created by @jasonjabbour on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/issues/324 Originally assigned to: @jasonjabbour on GitHub. **Chapter Seven - AI Training** - We found that Chapter Three and Chapter Seven cover almost the exact same topics, though Chapter 7 went into more depth. We recommend either consolidating the two or just letting Chapter Seven stand on its own. - This chapter is the longest we've encountered so far---towards the end, we were all having a hard time retaining the information. We felt like we held on through Learning Objectives 1-4 , but beyond that our comprehension had dwindled. I believe this has more to do with the length of the text rather than the actual writing, so to fix this we recommend either cutting down the writing or splitting it into two chapters. - There are a lot of equations in this chapter, but (at least for the first couple of equations) no context for variables or symbols that might be foreign to students. Additionally, the equations didn't appear when exporting the PDF, which we might want to change for students who prefer to take notes. - Also for students who download PDFs, would there be a way to hyperlink the videos included so that they can be accessed from PDF format? - We like the bolding of key terms in this chapter! Would be helpful to see this in other sections of the book. - In the introduction, explaining some real-world implications/examples would help ground readers a bit more. - **7.4 Training Data**, **7.6 Hyperparameter Tuning**, and **7.9 Activation Functions** were all really long sections. A good rule of thumb is to have every section be ~2 pages, just so readers can feel like they're progressing through the chapter a bit more (good for student morale!). We found ourselves getting a bit bogged down beyond that. - In **7.4 Training Data**, there is a "Data Leakage Between Sets" section and "Information Leakage Between Sets" section. Are these two things different? We would love more clarification on that. - To help minimize text, it seemed to us like **7.4.2 Common Pitfalls and Mistakes** and **7.6.3 Auto Tuners** could have been turned into tables. The tables in this book have really been a highlight for us, and are a great way to pull information easily. [Machine Learning Systems - 7 AI Training.pdf](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/15841578/Machine.Learning.Systems.-.7.AI.Training.pdf) _Originally posted by @sgiannuzzi39 in https://github.com/harvard-edge/cs249r_book/discussions/256#discussioncomment-9777263_

GiteaMirror added the area: book type: improvement labels 2026-04-21 21:19:21 -05:00

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-04-21 21:19:22 -05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-21 21:19:23 -05:00

@jasonjabbour commented on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024):

Make adjustments according to #314

@jasonjabbour commented on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024): - [x] Make adjustments according to #314

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-21 21:19:23 -05:00

@jasonjabbour commented on GitHub (Aug 12, 2024):

Cut down on overly wordy text throughout the chapter
Make sure equations and variables are properly introduced/defined
Information and Data Leakage Fix
7.4.2 and 7.6.3 could be turned into tables
Fix wording issues from #323

@jasonjabbour commented on GitHub (Aug 12, 2024): - [x] Cut down on overly wordy text throughout the chapter - [x] Make sure equations and variables are properly introduced/defined - [x] Information and Data Leakage Fix - [x] 7.4.2 and 7.6.3 could be turned into tables - [x] Fix wording issues from #323

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Reference: github-starred/cs249r_book#5327